AN: thanks for the reviews and thanks to Georgia Dawgette for being an amazing co-author and beta.
Chapter 22.
Bella watched Jared's departure until Edward had disappeared, then a hand on her shoulder called her back to reality. "Bells, come on, I'll take you to the Cullen's." whispered Jake.
She turned to look at him and saw that he was holding his arm; she stood up quickly and went to examine him. "Are you...are you hurt anywhere other than your arm?"
He smiled softly at her. "I am. Now let's go."
Bella felt tears of worry and fear starting to pour down her cheeks, and as Jake took her in his arms she started crying. "Don't worry Bells; Jared is tough, he'll get through this. If I was fighting for my life, there would be nothing more of an incentive than knowing that I had to get back to you. Jared will live and you two... will be happy..." she looked up at him and saw his tears. "I was in his mind before he passed out... Bells he loves you so much, even my own feelings pale in comparison... I had no idea... I just want you to know that I now understand you are his, and I will never try to come between you two again."
Jake's hold on her tightened for a moment, and then he let go. "Come on now, he needs you near him."
Bella took his hand. "Thanks Jake... I... let's go." There were so many things that she wanted to say to her best friend, but at the same time she knew it was best that they stay buried in her heart.
Her soul was shouting with impatience; she needed to be with her mate, nothing else mattered.
They moved quickly, and soon the Cullen's house was visible through the trees, Bella's anxiety rose to new heights and after Jake set her down she was basically running by the time she reached the door. Alice opened it, and Bella without looking at her entered and asked Jasper. "Where is Jared?"
Jasper sent her a wave of calm, but she shook her head. "I don't need your help Jasper, sorry but I just want to know where Jared is."
Jasper looked at her pitifully. "Bella ... he was bitten repeatedly by a newborn... and..."
"Where the fuck is he? I need to be with him!" she shouted.
Jasper was taken aback, but then answered. "He is upstairs in Carlisle's studio."
Bella took the stairs two at time, and finally reached the studio. She knocked and Carlisle opened the door. "Bella, come in." his expression was grim. "Jared was barely holding on when he arrived here, I did all I could; now it's up to him. The next hour is going to determine whether or not he'll live. Luckily no venom entered his body; it's just that the blood loss and the slow recovery have weakened him."
She walked towards the bed and sat on a nearby chair; she took his limp hand in hers and whispered, "Jared I'm here. You must fight; I need you in my life. I want everything with you; a house, marriage and kids... so please come back to me." She closed her eyes and rested her head on her arms.
Jared was barely breathing but he was holding on, was it because of her? She was startled from her thoughts by a soft knock.
Alice entered, and Bella stiffened. "Bella... I know we didn't part well the last time, but I want to tell you that I'm sorry. I can see that you really care for Jared and Edward has accepted it too. I don't know what happened, but I know you enough to believe that you didn't have any other choice but to be with Jared... But now there is another problem, I saw the Volturi... they'll be here shortly. Carlisle sent all the wolves away beside Jacob, he'll stay with Jared while we deal with this problem... you need to shower...Hmmm... you can't smell of ... well you know..."
Bella nodded, she turned to Jared. "I'll be back as soon as I can, keep fighting... don't... don't leave me..." She walked past Alice and then she stopped. "Alice... I know I hurt Edward, you and the family... but the way you treated me... I can't forgive you, as soon as Jared gets better we'll leave and I don't... don't want to see any of you again..." tears were streaming down her face but she had finally made up her mind, she was a 'wolf girl' no matter what and if she had to give up her vampire family so be it.
Jake was watching her with shock, and she knew that probably Alice was as stricken as she felt, but she didn't make decisions lightly and this was it.
Jake took her hand for a moment and squeezed it, then he nodded and she felt that he approved of her decision. She nodded back, and then she went to the bathroom for the shower. She didn't really want to wash away Jared's scent, but she couldn't risk the pack's secret.
Rosalie entered the bathroom after she had turned off the shower. "Bella, I know that we never hit it off, but I want to tell you that I think you made the right decision by staying human. I'll respect your choice of never seeing us again, and I'll fight for the others to respect your wish. Now, please wear this, we're waiting downstairs, we'll meet them at the meadow."
Bella slowly got dressed with a pair of jeans and a blue hoodie; she felt a bit better that Rosalie didn't ask her to wear a frilly dress. She took a deep breath and then got down to where the Cullen's were waiting for her. Their expressions varied from sorrowful to somber, all of them had heard her conversation with Alice and it seemed that it had struck hard. She wasn't going to take anything back though. "Let's go, the sooner we get this done the sooner I can come back to my mate's side."
Edward and Alice gasped, and the others were clearly shocked at her coldness. She didn't care, she just wanted to go upstairs and curl into Jared's side. They quickly exited, Edward was the last one and he put up his hand for her to take.
The coldness of his touch made her grimaced, and when she looked up at Edward saw his horror at her reaction. "Edward ... I..." She was feeling really sorry for him, after she got used to Jared's high temperature it was a shock his cool touch. Guilt had her eyes prickling with tears; it had been a long night.
He shook his head. "Don't Bella. I let you down and you found someone else... my love wasn't enough... now you have... Jared... and apparently he makes you happy... "
She smiled sadly. "Not just apparently... he really does make me whole... I feel like he is part of me and me a part of him. I'm sorry it had to end this way between us, I shouldn't have taken you back after Italy, I should have taken my time to see how I was really feeling..." she couldn't' reveal to him that until the imprinting she wouldn't have questioned their relationship, but here they were basically saying goodbye for the last time. "I wish you happiness Edward... you deserve it..."
He didn't reply, he helped her onto his back and then ran quickly to catch up with the others. There wasn't much more to say after all, he was letting her go and she had already moved on with Jared.
...
When they arrived at the clearing, Edward put her down and they went to join the Cullen's. After a few minutes, four cloaked figures appeared on the opposite side of the meadow. One of them took off his cape and Bella recognized Aro, the king of the Volturi.
Carlisle walked towards him. "Aro, my dear friend, welcome to Forks."
Aro eyed Carlisle and then put out his hand. "Thank you, Carlisle; it's been a long time since we last saw each other."
Carlisle took Aro's hand, and let the king read his mind. Bella was frightened that something about the werewolves would get out, but she knew that Carlisle was good at shielding, after living with Edward you had to work on some kind of protection for your thoughts.
"I see that young Bella is still human, care to explain why?" finally Aro asked letting Carlisle's hand go.
Carlisle looked serious. "Aro, we have recently had a few problems with newborns. And recently Bella and Edward decided that they didn't want to continue their relationship. In light of her keeping our secret for so long without any problem we were you would allow her to stay human."
Aro shook his head. "I can't believe you are asking me for that. You are aware that she can't live with this knowledge. I can take her with me, and she can become a vampire at my court."
Edward moved in front of her, and she started to get scared. A voice from behind Bella startled everyone."That won't be necessary. She can't become a vampire, because she is the mate of a werewolf."
Bella turned to look as Jake and Jared came into the clearing. Without hesitation she turned and ran into Jared's arms."Are you..." she didn't dare saying anything else.
Jared smiled tiredly down at her and she felt her heart swell with happiness as, she smiled back. Her heart was soaring with love and relief at seeing him standing, he was there for her and he was going to be there forever. Tears again filled her eyes, she shook her head and then she rest it on his chest, smelling him and reassuring herself that he was really there.
"This is very strange, Master." said one of the covered figures. "The bond between Bella and that thing is amazingly tight, even her link with the other thing is quite strong. Her bond with the mind-reader was nothing in comparison."
Bella saw Aro eyeing Jared and Jake speculatively. "So you are both shifters?"Would you mind taking my hand?" He asked while holding out his hand, making Bella stiffen as Jared began to push her behind him.
Jared grimaced and glanced at Jacob; Bella didn't want to let him go, but a nod from Carlisle made Jared disentangle from her and moved towards Aro. "It's okay Bella, stay with Jake." Bella went to stand close to Jake, as she watched her mate limping slightly towards the king of the vampire world.
"How is he?" whispered Bella to Jake. Jake shrugged his shoulders. "As soon as he opened his eyes he asked about you, and when he heard where you went he insisted in coming. He is weak, but it seems he's holding up."
Jared placed his hand in Aro's outstretched palm. The king seemed deep in concentration, sometimes he nodded and other times he shook his head slightly. Finally he let Jared's hand go, and motioned for him to step back. Jared turned and went back to Bella. He took her hand gently pulling her so their sides were touching, and stood there waiting for a decision.
Aro smirked. "It's been years since the last shifter I met, I'm curious to know more. We will agree to allow her to remain human in exchange for a wolf."
Jake and Jared stiffened. Bella couldn't take it anymore. "No, I'll never exchange my freedom for someone else's servitude. "
Aro's eyes narrowed. "You have been permitted too many things Bella. I'm not a Cullen or a wolf that you can treat with such disrespect. You'll come back to Italy with us and that's final. Otherwise I'll exterminate everyone you hold dear, starting with the Cullen's."
Edward took a step forward. "What if in exchange for Bella you take me? I promise to stay in the guard for a hundred years."
Bella let Jared's hand go and walked to Edward. "No, you can't go, Edward. I'm not worth it."
Edward's golden eyes turned to her. "You're wrong Bella; you are worth even more than this sacrifice. I really meant that I want to see you happy. I'll forever love you and I'll cherish every memory I've got of you."
Bella's eyes were full of tears; she didn't love him the same way anymore, but it was unbearable to think that he was sacrificing for her.
Aro smirked. "I want Edward and Alice."
"I'll come only if Jasper can come as well, and I'll stay in your court for fifty years only. Then you'll have to let me and Jasper go, and allow us to keep to our diet." replied Alice.
Aro clapped his hand in happiness. "Yes, we've got a deal. Fifty years for both you and Jasper, a hundred years for Edward and you can keep drinking from animals... though you're free to change your diet anytime."
Bella was feeling torn. "Alice! You can't do it, I'll go."
Alice walked towards Bella; she put her hands on her shoulders. "Bella, I let you down once and I promised that I would never do that again, instead I did. Now it's my chance to prove to you that I really care for you, that you are my sister in every way that matters. We'll be fine, I'll look after Edward."
Bella nodded and hugged her. "You three take care of each other, okay?"
Alice hugged her back. "Never forget that we love you Bella. Now go back to your mate and be happy, live your life to the fullest."
Bella looked at the remaining Cullen's noticing that they were looking at her with love. Carlisle smiled sadly at her and then Bella walked towards Jared, when he took her into his arms she felt safe and complete. She turned in time to see Alice, Edward and Jasper hugging their family and leaving with the Volturi.
When they disappeared Carlisle walked towards Bella. "Bella, you must know that what happened isn't your fault. Aro has coveted Alice and Edward for some time now. I think that he saw this as an opportunity to gain what he desired most. We all love you and you're family to us no matter what. Now we'll be leaving Forks, but if you ever need us we'll be back. I left a number with Billy Black. Remember don't hesitate, we all love you."
Bella hugged Carlisle, then Esmè. Emmett and Rosalie were the last two; Emmett gave her a bear hug. "Take care Bella, I wish you a good life."
Rosalie was the next one. She gave a long look to her and nodded. When Bella blinked her eyes she was gone too.
The Cullen's were gone, and as soon as they disappeared Jared almost collapsed. Jake caught him in time. "Easy there brother, let's get you back to La Push. A warm bed, and some sleep will do wonders for you."
Bella took Jared's other side and together the three of them headed towards La Push. It had been an emotional day and night, and when Jared was given a bed in Sue's house Bella just curled into his side and immediately fell asleep with him.