Cullen's Hound

Ch. 3: Broken Angel

RPOV

Bella had been in the throes of a nightmare when I entered her hospital room. I had gone with my family to pick up some of her things from her father's house then rushed over. The air shifted in her room when I opened the door and brought my scent into the room. The sleeping girl sniffed twice then started to relax, but not enough.

I was drawn to her bedside by a force that was as inescapable as a black hole. Bella sniffed again and relaxed a bit more, when my hand brushed along her forehead and along her cheek, she was completely relaxed. Whatever the nightmare had been, my presence drove it away.

She looked like a peaceful Angel as she slept; a beautiful Broken Angel that endured to eke out a fulfilling life despite her circumstances and the animosity of most of her peers and elders. I removed my hand then grabbed a chair to pull closer. As soon as my hand was gone from her cheek, she whimpered. The pained sound made my unbeating heart seize. For all that was Holy, I wished I could figure out what this strange feeling was that this girl dragged from me.

I replaced my hand just as quickly as I'd removed it. Bella quieted down again as she turned her head slightly into my hand. A few minutes later I was shocked to hear the most glorious sound in all of creation. In the softest of whispers, the Angel spoke in her sleep. While part of me was dazzled by the sound, the rest had been amused by the randomness of what passed her inviting lips.

Inviting lips, why would I have thought anything like that? As my mind pondered over that, I must've removed my hand because she whimpered in pain again as she rolled to her on her side. Instinctively, Bella had wrapped her arms about herself as if it kept the night terrors away.

The sight of her in pain was too much for me. A myriad of emotions, most of which I didn't understand coursed through me like a whirlwind until I'd forgotten which way was up. The only thing I knew for certain was that her pain had become my pain. Without a pause to think about what I was doing, I climbed into the bed and spooned myself behind.

My arms slid around her body, and then suddenly all was right with the world. The sleeping human snuggled into me and her body naturally molded around my own with a contented sigh. At that moment, something inside of me shifted. Bella was mine, mine to protect and to…what? She is mine to protect and what, I wondered. The answer, as always, had been elusive.

I pushed that puzzle out of my thoughts and just concentrated on enjoying how natural it felt to have this girl wrapped in my arms. Time passed swiftly; before I knew it, morning had come. It shocked me when Bella's hand gently caressed my arm, as I hadn't noticed the increased heart rate and breathing that said she was awake. Somehow, I didn't feel embarrassed by our compromising position.

The sound of footsteps coming toward the door instantly sent me into a defensive mode. I rolled of the bed then fell straight into a hunting crouch. My only thought was that I must protect what's mine. When the door opened, I pounced on the unlucky fool that walked through and slammed him into the adjacent wall. With bared teeth, I growled at the intruder.

Calm had hit me like a prizefighter and I went limp. Before I hit the floor, my decent was stopped by Jasper. Unwillingly, my eyes shot over to the wall I pinned the intruder to and saw my father looking back at me with a knowing smile. What the hell was with my family and all the knowing smiles? It was beyond the point of getting on my nerves already.

Carlisle wordlessly pointed behind me and I followed his finger. Bella stood with her back to a corner in a defensive position. Her head moved from side to side as she scented the air. In her right hand, an empty bedpan was held at the ready. There was no panic or fear in her body language, just determination.

Emmett moved without thinking, and that was his mistake. In one fluid motion, Bella dodged his outstretched arm and slammed the bedpan into his ribs. The room resonated with hollow thunk as the make shift weapon crumpled. The petite firebrand hissed when the shockwave from the impact traveled up her arm and caused her to drop the mangled bedpan.

Jasper stepped away from me then struck the heel of his boot rhythmically on the floor. Bella moved out of her defensive position but started to shake as the adrenaline that had been running through her system returned to its normal level. I jumped over to her then wrapped my arms around her. When she felt my touch, her body instantly relaxed. Her head turned and she breathed my scent deep into her lungs.

I moved us both back to the bed and we settled into a comfortable position. Her rubbed along one of my arms for a second before it started to tap out a pattern on my arm.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Rosalie Hale and the others are my family. They would like to meet you," was the reply a tapped on her breastbone, to which she nodded.

One by one, the others introduced themselves. Each time a stab of jealousy went through me as they touched her. Carlisle explained everything that happened with the accident and its aftermath. Jasper felt the tumult of her pain and loss but she hadn't she a single tear. Instead, she just shut down emotionally. Once again, my unbeating heart seized.

The others left but promised to come back later as they needed to meet with that Carson guy. When I attempted to join them, Bella panicked then started to hyperventilate. Her hands clutched desperately at my arms to prevent me from leaving. I sat back down and pulled her onto my lap. Her toned arms snaked around me as she rested her head on my shoulder.

Strangely, this time I was the one that let out a contented sigh. We sat like that until the Nurse brought in her breakfast.

BPOV

I woke up in the hospital with a strange pair of cold arms wrapped around me that had been attached to an obviously female body. My head told me that I should be panicking, but instinct told me that not only was I safe in these arms but I was home as well. That familiar scent of spice and roses, which enveloped me, came from her.

Others had come in as some point; there was a brief scuffle then they introduced themselves. Dr. Cullen, Carlisle, had told me about the accident and its aftermath. After that, I just shut down. The only time I showed any emotion was when Rosalie tried to leave with her family to go meet David.

It had felt like somebody tried to rip my heart, my life, my home away from me. I needed her in a way that I'd never needed another soul, except for Bran. But this was different, the emotions were foreign and I just couldn't place them. When she sat back down on the bed and pulled onto her lap, I had to fight the aching need to feel every inch of her against every inch of me.

The antiseptic, raspberry and copper scent that wafted in when the door opened told me that Nurse Ratchet…Nurse Stanley had entered the room. The other scents that accompanied her announced that the soulless harpy had brought my breakfast; rubber scrambled eggs with limp bacon and a cup of OJ. Once the food was in my stomach, I wallowed in the numbness I created to avoid dealing with my father's death.