Chapter 16

"Damn, did you see the size of that bear?" Emmett yelled as the Cullen's returned from their hunt. "I didn't think Scotland had bears." "They are not indigenous to Scotland. The size of the wolves and deer also is larger than normal. Did the blood taste richer to anyone else?" Carlisle questioned. Everyone nodded and Jasper answered, "Yes, it seemed to fill me up faster and was more fulfilling than at home."

"I agree" Carlisle said, "That is a question we will need to ask. Do any of you have questions about Isabelle's story that we need to discuss?" "It was good to see her again." Esme slowly started looking at Edward from the corner of her eye. "She seems to be very happy with her family and 10 sons that is amazing. I can understand why she would take the chance that her memories before finding her husband would be erased. I am glad that most of my human memories of my first husband have faded."

"I still don't understand why I didn't see more." Alice said, "I got snippets over the years but if she was still human I should have gotten more, especially when I started actively looking for her." Edward asked, "Alice where was she when you got visions of her?" "Well after hearing where she traveled, several in Brazil, Vancouver, London and Scotland. The ones in Scotland are after she met Gabriel I think, she was very happy." Alice replied.

"I think I may have an answer as to why you got all of them except the ones in Scotland. When I was away Brazil is the place I spent the most time in and there were several times I could have sworn I picked up her scent. But this was in the middle of the jungle and I thought by that time I had truly lost it. There was no way she could be in the jungle was my thinking and after smelling her for the fifth time I decided it was time to move on. Several months later I was in Vancouver and I saw her twice in two weeks, but being so close to Seattle I didn't think anything of it and that is when I came to join the rest of you in London. The family wasn't here yet and I thought I caught a glimpse of her at Heathrow boarding a plane but wasn't sure, it didn't make sense for her to be there. I think you were picking up on me Alice and seeing her because I was. I don't know about the ones in Scotland, I never went there." Edward stopped talking and looked up at his family's shocked faces.

"Let me get this straight," Alice began. "You had either seen or smelled her in 3 different places she shouldn't have been for months and months after you left and you didn't think this was maybe fate's way of giving you a second chance? I agree with Rose you made your bed and now you are going to lay in it Edward. You had several chances to make her yours and ignored them. She is happy now, leave her alone. The 17 year old boy in you is jealous that someone else has claimed her and that is not a good enough reason to stir up this mess Edward. If not for the current circumstances you would not have sought her out, you and I both know it Edward. You got exactly what you said you wanted when we left, she moved on, married and had a family. Admit this Edward and then let it go. They will only give you so many chances and I do not need a vision to tell me you are about out of them."

Edward agreed with Alice but had a hard time admitting it, even to himself. What he said was, "I can see how happy she is, I am not blind to that. And yes, a part of me is a jealous 17 year old boy but I guess most of me is angry. Angry at myself because I realize I brought this on, angry at Gabriel because he obviously knows her in ways I never did or could and I don't just mean intimately. Angry at Bella for not seeking me out once this happened and giving me a chance and just angry in general for things I can not control or go back and change. Also I am scared. I am starting to see I have lost her but I have to be in her life in some way, even if she only offers friendship. To lose her completely, the thought alone is more painful than anything I have experienced so far and that is saying something. I am scared to talk to her, scared I won't control myself and she will be forced to put me out of her life forever."

"We do understand Edward," Carlisle said softly, "I am glad to see you are finally looking at this rationally. I think from this point the best idea is to take your cues from her. When she asks to talk to you do so with an open mind and try to understand her perspective. Find out what if anything she can offer you going forward and understand her husband, he will not want you anywhere near her. Learn to be happy with what she can give you, instead of wallowing over what can never be."

A sharp knock sounded on the door. Emmett jumped, "I hate that they can do that. Does that freak anyone out? I can't even remember the last time someone surprised me before coming here." "You!" Jasper said, "I am use to feeling someone before they are close enough to surprise me, so yeah it freaks me out. What about you Edward can you hear them?" "No I am unable to hear them and it is very unsettling" Edward replied, "But at the same time it is kind of nice to be surprised once in a while or it would be if the circumstances where different."

Carlisle opened the door to see Anthony standing there, "They would like to see you again in the solar to explain the tests you will be undergoing today. Follow me." The Cullen's could hear raised voices and they were still half way across the castle. A female said, "I don't like that they are pushing on the protection walls. They are looking for a place to force themselves in and they are so arrogant about it. If they would stop to feel the magic they would know it is impossible and that pisses me off. They assume inferiority because we are women." "I know" Isabelle said, "It is time to find out how much the lycans know. The werewolf died in interrogation?" There was a pause, someone answered without speaking. "Cut off his brand and send hair samples to them for identification purposes. Also send one of the frozen limbs we have from the hybrid with a message demanding to tell us what they are breeding. Let them know exactly what we think of them spying on us and what happens to those caught doing so. Be sure they understand we always catch them, sending others would be a stupid and hostile move. Almost an act of war, is that what they want?" Gabriel interrupted, "Take a breath `nam gràdh. Soren, Grim and Leif do as your mother has ordered and remember this is meant to be a warning not a normal visit, war braids and fully armored."

Isabelle spoke again, "They are bringing this fight to us and I don't like being on defense. I was hoping this wouldn't happen until the Cullen's left. But then I suppose the safest place for them would be here." A male spoke, "I think we need to prepare the stone dance and the rings for use, if not for travel that at least for the protection of the clan." "I agree" Isabelle and Gabriel said together. "Be sure each clan member knows where to go if the bells are rung." Gabriel continued. "Ready the ring by the waterfall also but the clan is not to go there. I have another use for that in mind." Isabelle stated.

As they Cullen's approached the door they were more than a little nervous about the easy way war was being spoken about, the dead werewolf and what was that part about limbs. Suddenly the door opened, the 3 highland warriors walked out in full armor and their war braids causing the Cullen's to instinctively back up. As they high fived each other Soren said to Leif and Grim, "this is going to be fun." Leif and Grim laughed saying, "Hell yeah it is." Leif turned and looked at his brothers slyly then took off running and yelled "I'm taking the red claymore." "Oh no you don't" the other two shouted as they chased after him to pick weapons. As they Cullen's entered the room they saw Isabelle sitting on Gabriel's lap as she whispered, "Those are your sons, the war mongers, my sons would never act that way." Running his enlarged canines along her jaw he replied, "I thought you like being this war monger's prize?" "Mmmmm," she hummed biting his ear, "that I do. I like when the savage comes out to play."

Carlisle cleared his throat to gain the rooms attention. Isabelle stood saying, "I hope you had a good hunt. Now let me explain what is going to happen today and prepare you for that. We will start by taking venom, hair and skin tissue samples from each of you. Catherine, Michael's mate, is full lycan and will be able to get the skin sample the easiest. You will be restrained during this process but Michael will also be present for his own piece of mind during the retrieval. Your instinct will be to fight once she switches to her lycan form that is the reason for the restraints and Michael. We will also perform a full MRI and several types of full body scans and pictures at this time. If you prefer a same sex examiner at this time that is fine. Haldor or Keldan can do the men and Elisabeth or Iris can do the women, they all have medical training and are fully qualified to do this. Also if you want your mate present that is fine, except for the MRI then they can be in the control room. These tests can be very distressful, so if you need to hunt again after them please let us know and we will arrange it."

Isabelle turned to Jasper, Alice and Edward speaking, "Digby, Ingram and Heidi are going to teach you 3 relaxation exercises. After the tests come the mind scans and probe. The 3 of you will be extremely susceptible to these and if they are not done carefully they can cause harm. Because of this they will show you how to clear your mind as much as possible and just go with the probe instead of fighting it, which will be your natural reaction. We will be very careful with you and while only one person will be scanning there will always be someone else in the room monitoring you and prepared to stop the scan at any sign of distress. Please believe me when I say we do not mean you any harm."

She turned to Carlisle saying, "You coven will be the only ones able to boast of that fact." When she saw the question on his faced she explained, "No other creature has entered or exited our dungeons and been able to say that we didn't mean any harm to them."

"You need to understand," she continued, "the mind scans are going to pick through your mind, every memory, conversation and thought will be examined. We are looking to see if things have been removed or altered in your memories. There are certain things we are shocked you do not know more about and I will not tell you what they are yet. We need to know if you never knew them or if that memory was removed. For Alice her visions will be examined also to see if any have been planted or altered. With Edward being a mind reader we expect his to take the longest and will probably have to be done in several sessions. He should have the most memories, even though Carlisle and Jasper are older. We will stop so he can hunt or rest as needed. Please do not be afraid, embarrassed or ashamed to ask for a break. Yes we will be monitoring you but understand we never give people breaks. A break allows you to regroup and any other time we have done this the idea was to break the persons mind completely so we could get the information we needed. You know your mind and body, pay attention to it and tell us when to take a break. This type of exam goes against everything we do here."

"We have also set up a special room for Edward, Alice and Jasper to be in whenever someone is being scanned. It is soundproof and it will essentially lock down your powers. No visions, mind reading or emotion feeling allowed, this is for your benefit, to keep you relaxed and not worrying about what is going on with the others. The others are allowed in the room with you but when the scanning is being done you 3 are required to be in the room. Any questions?"

"No questions about the procedures, "Carlisle began "But I do have a question about hunting." Isabelle nodded for him to continue. "We noticed you have animals that are not native to Scotland." Isabelle laughed, "Like the bears, big cats and large mountain rams?" Carlisle nodded. "Well, of course you would know that the larger the predator the more the satisfying meal." She said looking at the Cullen's. "When you have as many lycans and vampires as we do you need a larger animal population to support them. First we went and caught the animals we needed and set up a type of preserve on Hamilton land. Then we went back and collected animals with older more primal DNA and began our breeding program. We breed the animals for certain qualities one of which is the richness of their blood so we don't have to hunt as often. Some of the kills are left in the forest to support local wildlife but the rest are brought back and the clan uses them for the pelts, meat and any other use they can find. As far north as we are not many of them have jobs where they leave to go to work. Most of them have internet jobs or ones they can work from home; we try to be as self sustaining as possible."

"Any other questions?" she asked looking at the Cullen's. They shook their heads no. "OK then" she continued, "it will take about an hour to set everything up for the tests please feel free to explore the castle itself or the grounds. It is sunny outside so the children would love to see you in it. If they start to make you uncomfortable just let someone know and we will try to reign them in. Anthony and his cousins I am sure will try to get you to do something with them and that is fine. Remind him though that if it is a contact sport everyone has to wear the mouth gear, bites or any kind of venom exchange can be deadly to them and to you." As everyone rose to leave the room Isabelle called out to Edward, "Is now good time for us to talk?" He turned and nodded. "Then let's go to the family balcony, I think the 3 of us will be more comfortable there."