Jacob's hands were clenching and unclenching by his sides. I couldn't get over how much he had grown in such a short period of time, even knowing the cause was the supernatural. Gone was the innocence from his eyes and the friendly smile I remembered. In such a short period of time, this boy had so much responsibility heaped on his shoulders. His entire world had been turned upside down. When we walked along the beach and he told me of his tribe's legends, he had no clue they were true. He scoffed at them.
"Just a bunch of superstitious natives, eh Jacob?" I smiled wryly.
His face darkened and he gave a curt nod. We stared at each other for a few minutes and his silence was making me uneasy.
"How could you, Bella?" He blurted out before his lips pressed into a thin line once more. It looked like he had a lot more he wanted to say to me, but he was holding back.
"How could I what?"
His mouth curved into a deep frown. "You knew what they were." He sounded so broken and I didn't understand why he was so hurt. It's not like we were the best of friends and I'd betrayed him. If we'd spent more time together, we might have become closer, but we hadn't had the opportunity. There were only a handful of interactions between us and while Jacob was easy to be around, nothing significant ever happened between us. Apparently the feelings were stronger on his side of things.
"You basically told me that day on First Beach." I admitted as I continued to study him.
He nodded. "How could you still associate with them once you figured it out? Don't you know how dangerous they are?"
"Not any more dangerous than young werewolves."
Jacob grimaced. "They're dead, Bella. They drink blood."
"They're not dead, they're supernatural, just like you. And they drink animal blood. We eat animals too. I don't see the problem."
"It's not the same!" He growled and turned away.
"No it's not the same, but it's not as different as you think either. As long as you keep phasing you'll never age. Edward doesn't have that choice. Believe me, if there was a way for him to become human, he would do it. He didn't choose this life, just like you didn't. He doesn't want to be a vampire." I'd gotten angry and started to follow him out into the front yard.
He turned around to face me. "How could you do this to Charlie?" I could hear the unspoken "and me" in his words. This was about more than just me consorting with vampires. This was about me becoming a vampire.
"He already thinks I'm dead, Jacob. And I would be if it wasn't for them."
"You could still come home. We could come up with a story and you could live a perfectly happy human life."
"I wouldn't be happy without Edward. It would be like Sam without Emily. I love him, Jacob. I choose him, and I choose his way of life."
"I could make you happy, Bella, just give me a chance." His overheated hands were gripping my forearms and he was leaning down towards me. I tried to pull my arms away, but his grip was too tight. "Give us a chance." He whispered, his lips not more than an inch from mine. "You could learn to love me too." Then his lips were on mine and he was kissing me. I struggled in his grip to no avail and knew I'd have bruises on my arms by the time this was over. Edward would be pissed. Since I knew I couldn't get away from him, I simply went limp and waited for him to finish. When he finally pulled away, he grinned in satisfaction, and when he finally let me go, I pulled my arm back and smacked him as hard as I could in an effort to remove that grin from his face.
What I didn't count on was the searing pain that blasted through my hand. Jacob wasn't even fazed as I cradled my hand to my chest and moaned in pain. He was as solid as my vampires. There wasn't even a red mark. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" I wanted to shake my hand but knew it would only make it hurt worse.
"Are you okay?" He asked calmly and all I wanted to do was hit him again, though I doubted that would be wise. Maybe if I could find a crow bar laying around... "Let me see, Bella."
"No! You broke my hand! Get away from me!" I screamed at him.
I was so focused on my anger towards the huge brute who just forced himself on me that I didn't even hear the car pull up.
"Bella?" The sound of his familiar voice sent my world into a tailspin. And that was only the beginning.
I squeezed my eyes shut, willing it all to be a dream. I had no idea how I could explain this. I begged every deity I could think of to make it not real.
"Bella!" His voice cracked with emotion.
Opening my eyes, I forced myself to look at him. He looked so much older. His hair had more patches of gray. He'd lost some weight, but there were dark circles under his eyes. Eyes that looked haunted. He seemed frozen in place, unsure if he was truly seeing me.
"Dad." I whispered, unsure of how to proceed. The secret would be out now and my first thoughts were of his safety. I had to protect him at all costs.
Jacob had started towards the car to help Billy out, and I realized in all likelihood this had been a setup. Before I had a chance to process that thought, he stiffened mid-step and his entire focus was on the tree line. I watched, fascinated, as he inhaled deeply and then began to shudder. Jacob took off running towards the trees when another movement caught my eye. A flash of red and dread settled deep into the pit of my stomach. Victoria was here. She was headed straight for me, and I was frozen on the spot. It was then that I noticed the gigantic red wolf leaping towards her and they collided in midair with a loud crash.
"Bella!" Emily's frantic voice called out to me from the porch of her house.
"Get back inside Emily! Now!" I ordered her. Our eyes met, and hers were wet with tears of worry. "Get inside." I growled, needing her to be safe. Realistically, I knew the house wouldn't stop a vampire from getting to her if they wanted to, but in my mind if she was out of sight, it was unlikely Victoria would go hunting for her when she had me right here in front of her. I watched as she wrapped her arms protectively around her belly and then finally closed the door with her on the other side of it. It was one less thing I had to worry about.
Jacob had thrown Victoria into the trees, but she wasn't down for long. Her eyes were on me and I knew her one goal was to get past the giant wolf and kill me. My attention was once again diverted as another wolf appeared. This one was dark silver in color and smaller than the one I knew was Jacob. I thought this wolf would help Jake, but his attention seemed to be drawn to something else in the woods. As soon as I could make out who it was, Tanya came barreling out of the woods in my direction. The other wolf set it's sights on her and for a split second I didn't know if she meant me harm or if she came to stop Victoria.
Tanya locked eyes with me and seemed to relax a bit. "Bella." She mouthed with a smile, and then she was gone. The gray wolf had tackled her and they were currently tumbling towards Charlie's cruiser where he seemed frozen in shock.
"Dad!" I yelled, running towards him. "Dad!" He finally turned to look at me, though I could tell he was watching the fray out of the corner of his eye. "Get in the car and get out of here!" I had arrived at his door and began to try to push him into the car. "Get in Charlie! You have to get out of here!"
"Bella?" He asked brokenly, before he finally seemed to snap out of it. "What's going on?" He demanded then.
"I'll explain everything later, but you have to get out of here. Please!"
He nodded then, his face set in determination. "Get in the car, Bella."
"No, Charlie. I have to stay here. I'll be fine, I promise, but I have to stay."
A loud metallic screeching filled the air and I whirled around to see who had been hurt. The gray wolf had Tanya pinned to the ground, her left arm on the ground ten feet away. Forgetting the argument with Charlie, I sprinted over to the pair. "Stop! She's a Cullen!" I screamed. I grabbed the wolf's fur with one hand and unsuccessfully tried to pull him off of her. He growled at me, his long canines glinting in the sun. "She's a Cullen! She came here to stop Victoria. Let her up and go help Jacob!" I continued to try to move the giant beast with my shoulder, knowing that if I tried to hit him, I'd only hurt myself again.
"It's true." Tanya pleaded. "I followed Victoria from the battlefield. I knew she was going after Bella and I was trying to stop her."
The wolf removed his paws from her body and snorted. His head whipped around when Jacob let out a whine. Victoria had thrown him into a tree and he was having a hard time getting up. She was advancing on him, ready to finish him off. The other wolf looked from Tanya to me one more time before loping off to help his brother. I quickly grabbed Tanya's arm and gave it back to her., trying to repress a shudder at the grotesque sight.
"Thanks." She grimaced as she held the dismembered arm to her shoulder. The skin immediately began to knit itself together again.
"What happened?" I asked, my heart racing with anxiety. If Victoria had gotten away...I didn't even want to think about what that might mean for my family.
"He's fine, Bella." She tried to reassure me first. "Victoria never showed up for the battle. I was chasing a newborn who was trying to get away, and came across her trail. Realizing she was headed for the reservation, I decided to track her and let the newborn go. I didn't have time to go back and get anyone else, though I tried to tell Edward with my thoughts, but I don't know if he heard me."
I felt some relief, but I knew nothing would be okay until Edward was back in my arms.
"Thanks for letting me know. Are you okay?" She nodded and shrugged her shoulder, causing her to wince.
"It stings, but as soon as it's healed, I'll be fine." She looked back at me, then behind me, and her eyes widened. "Look out!" Tanya cried as she threw herself over me, just in time to see the not-Jacob wolf flying through the air over us. The impact with the ground was hard, though she tried to soften the blow. I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and when Tanya stiffened, I knew I must be bleeding. I could tell she stopped breathing and she leapt up, putting some distance between us. The impact had jarred my injured hand and I was biting back the tears. We both looked around and noticed four more wolves had now joined Jacob and the sounds of a vampire being torn apart filled the air.
I looked around to check on everyone and saw the gray wolf was now limping back towards the pack. My father was sitting down in his cruiser with Billy in the passenger seat. They were both transfixed on the scene in front of them, watching as the wolves gathered the white marble chunks of what used to be Victoria. The biggest wolf, one with black fur, phased back into his naked human form and I watched as Sam sprinted for the house. His gaze landed on me and he checked me over visually before grinning and winking. In a couple minutes, he was back out of the house wearing a pair of shorts and holding something in his hand. When he reached the rest of the pack, I realized it was a lighter, and Victoria's remains were quickly set on fire. The acrid purple smoke rose towards the sky taking most of my worries with it.
Victoria was gone.
No longer would she out there hunting me. No more lives would be taken in her misguided attempt at revenge. Those I loved were finally safe.
After Sam made sure all the pieces of Victoria were in the pyre, he loped over to me. His brow creased as he saw me cradling my broken hand. "Are you okay?" He asked as his large hands grasped my shoulders and his nostrils flared. "Where are you bleeding?"
"It's just my head. A small cut from a rock when I ducked in order to dodge the flying wolf. I think my hand is broken though."
Sam's brow creased and he nodded. "I am so sorry, Bella. I don't know how he got around the injunction, but Jacob was not supposed to approach you at all. He had been ordered to stay away." He shook his head. "Edward will never forgive me."
"Actually, I think Jacob is the one who should be asking my forgiveness." Edward's unmistakable voice called out from the tree line. Both our heads jerked up and I drank in the sight of my beautifully disheveled vampire. He was safe. Carlisle and Esme stood behind him, and from the easy smiles on their faces, I knew that we'd come out of this unscathed. It took me a minute, but I finally found my feet and ran as fast as I could towards him. In a show of vampire speed, he met me halfway and scooped me up into his arms as gently as possible. He buried his nose in my neck and inhaled deeply, reassuring himself that I was indeed fine. "I love you." He murmured and I returned the sentiment, placing both hands on either side of his head and pulling his face away from me so I could claim his lips in a searing kiss. A throat cleared and he chuckled, pulling away and turning to the person at his side.
"Bella." Carlisle's warm smile was contagious. We were all feeling the victory. "Let me take a look." He gestured towards my hand. His cool fingers deftly examined it and when he found the broken bone, I cursed. Carlisle pressed his lips into a firm line and I felt Edward stiffen at my side, no doubt reading the diagnosis in Carlisle's thoughts. They both looked at each other then, locked in some kind of staring contest until Edward relaxed and nodded minutely. I assumed he conceded and would not be hunting down a certain reddish-brown werewolf. "You've definitely broken it. I'll have to put a cast on it when we get back to the house." I groaned, knowing how uncomfortable that cast was going to be.
"Bella, love, there's someone who really needs to talk to you." Edward spoke softly, his gaze fixated on a point behind me.
"He saw everything, Edward."
"I know. He's taking it quite well." He tried to reassure me.
"But what about the Volturi." I nearly whimpered.
"They won't come here. They won't find out."
I hoped he was right.
I turned around to face Charlie. His expression was torn between anger and relief and his dark eyes studied me carefully. I wished for Edward's mind reading abilities at that moment. I didn't know how to proceed. Should I push him away so that when I did join Edward in immortality, he would be spared the grief of losing me a second time?
I turned back to Edward. "What do I do?" I whispered.
"What do you mean?"
"Should I push him away? Make him think I left because I didn't want to be here?"
Realization dawned on him. "Whether you push him away or not, he already knows the truth. He's already wondering if you're one of us. He's trying to figure out if we took you against your will or if you left on your own."
"You didn't answer my question."
"I can't tell you what to do, Bella. It's up to you. Alice hasn't seen anything either way that I know of. Keeping your distance won't change anything, but it will leave him with many unanswered questions."
I appreciated that Edward no longer tried to tell me what to do, but this was one instance where I'd appreciate his guidance. I thought about what he'd said and realized that Charlie was already in danger because of what he witnessed. Giving him some closure wouldn't put him in any more danger, and he deserved it. I'd put him through too much as it was. Leaving him with unanswered questions would be cruel.
Once more I turned towards my dad. I'd be lying if I said I didn't long to feel his arms around me again. I missed Charlie.
"Dad?" I whispered, walking slowly towards him.
A spark of hope glimmered in his wet eyes. When I turned away from him, he'd thought I was going to reject him.
"Bells." My name left his lips like a prayer. Charlie closed the distance between us quickly and wrapped me up in a tight hug. I felt his shoulders shake with silent sobs and I had to hold back my own tears. I hugged him back just as fiercely and gripped the back of his jacket with my good hand, not wanting to let him go.
When he released me, he quickly wiped his face, not wanting me to see the tears. "Are you okay?" He asked roughly, his dark eyes searching my own.
"I'm good, Dad. Really good."
He looked skeptical, but he nodded and then looked down to where I was cradling my hand. "What happened to your hand?"
"I slapped Jake."
His eyes grew wide. "Why?"
"He kissed me." I shrugged and he chuckled. He looked behind me and when I turned my head, I saw we had an audience. Sam, Jacob, and Billy stood to one side, while Carlisle and Edward were on the other. Esme was with Tanya behind them, and the rest of the pack had phased back, found shorts and were standing by the smoldering pile of Victoria's ashes.
His expression grew serious. "Why..." He stopped and looked around again. "What the hell is going on?" He demanded.
"Um..." I turned to look at Edward for help. He stepped up behind me and took my hand. Sam stepped forward on the other side and laid his hand on my shoulder.
"Chief Swan, I think we should go inside and talk." Sam spoke first. "We'll explain our side of things, and then Dr. Cullen can take over." He looked to the centenarian vampire for confirmation.
"Yes. I am sure you have questions about what you just witnessed and where Bella fits into all this. If you'll come and give us a chance to explain, I'm sure we'll be able to answer all your questions." Charlie gave me a hard look and nodded curtly. Sam then gestured for Jacob, who started pushing Billy's wheelchair towards Emily's house. The rest of us followed.
Emily accosted me as I entered the room. She was full of apologies for Jacob and excitement that the threat had been eliminated without any casualties on our side. We all found a place to sit in the living room and Emily served us iced tea with Esme's assistance. Edward cradled my broken hand between his own, the cold helping with the pain and swelling. Sam handed a prescription bottle to Carlisle, who nodded and then dispensed one of the white pills into his hand and held it out for me. "It will help with the pain." I took it eagerly as my stomach was beginning to churn from the events of the day combined with the pain of a broken bone.
"Billy, would you like to start, or should I?" Sam asked of his elder, the rightful chief of his tribe.
Billy held up his hand. "Charlie, I want you to know that these were secrets I had to keep for the safety of my people. I did not wish to betray you, but some things cannot be told." Charlie eyed his old friend warily and nodded. "The legends are true, Charlie. We are descended from wolves."
Charlie was quiet for a few minutes as he processed Billy's words. "Well damn, we used to drink and laugh about those old stories after listening to Old Quil drone on all night." He chuckled. "Jacob's a wolf?"
"You saw it with your own eyes, old friend."
"Huh."
Jacob's shoulders shook with silent laughter at Charlie's bafflement.
"Okay. So where do these wolves fit in with what's been going on here in Forks?" He immediately slipped into police chief mode.
"The huge bear sightings." Sam volunteered.
"What about the missing hikers?" Charlie asked.
"Well, that's the rest of the story. Dr. Cullen should probably take if from here."
"Please, call me Carlisle." He smiled warmly at everyone gathered in the little room. I almost believed he had some sort of talent for putting people at ease, though Edward insisted his compassion was his gift. "The wolves had nothing to do with the missing hikers, Charlie. They were trying to protect them, only they came upon the scene too late. I'm afraid the ones responsible for all those deaths, as well as the ones in Seattle, are of my kind."
"Your kind?"
"The Cold Ones." Billy interjected.
"Bloodsuckers." Jacob sneered. Sam growled sharply his outburst.
"Yes, there are many names for our kind. Vampire is the most common."
Charlie stood up abruptly, appearing a little panicked. "The Cold Ones? All the legends are true?" His voice cracked with disbelief.
"Calm down, Charlie. We won't harm you, or anyone else. My family is different from others of our kind. We don't feed from humans. We respect human life and exist on a diet of animal blood."
"Animal blood?" He shook his head, trying to wrap his brain around everything. "Bells? You knew this?"
I nodded. "When Edward saved me from Tyler's van, I knew there was something different about him. I persuaded Jacob to tell me about the legends, then put it all together and figured out what he was. He's never hurt me, Dad."
"Phoenix?" He was handling everything much better than I expected. Here he was, finding out his dead daughter was actually alive, that she consorted with vampires and werewolves, and he hadn't even raised his voice.
"Long story, Dad." My head was started to get fuzzy and I knew the pain killers were kicking in. "Carlisle?"
"The animal attacks were actually vampire attacks. There were others of our kind in the area. Human drinkers. They were passing through, but we caught their attention one night."
"Baseball." Charlie murmured, remembering the night I yelled unforgivable things at him and left. He was putting it all together faster than I expected.
"He's just as perceptive as you are." Edward murmured in my ear and I nodded in agreement.
"Yes, we were playing baseball. They came upon us and the head of their coven took an interest in Bella. James was what we call a tracker, or hunter. He took delight in the game of hunting his prey and Bella was just too intriguing for him. She was a human with a large coven of vampires protecting her. The prize was irresistible in his eyes." Carlisle made complete eye contact with Charlie. "It was all an act, Charlie. He was listening and she had to make it believable. We led him on a wild goose chase for a bit, but he figured out what we were up to and that she had fled to Phoenix. James made her believe that he had her mother and she gave Alice and Jasper the slip to go meet him. We almost lost her that night."
Edward's jaw clenched and pain flashed through his eyes as he remembered. His fingers caressed the scar from James' bite.
"He didn't have Renee, and she didn't fall down the stairs and through a window." Charlie glared at me disapprovingly. "Why would you knowingly put yourself in danger like that, Bells?"
"I thought he had Mom."
Charlie shook his head, but his mustache twitched as he fought back a smirk.
"No, she was tossed around a ballet studio like a rag doll. He broke her leg and almost drained her."
"Carlisle!" Edward growled.
"It's okay, Edward. I'm safe." I tried to reassure him, running my fingers through the hair at the back of his head.
"He doesn't need to know all the gory details."
"I'd prefer to know everything, if you don't mind." Charlie spoke to Carlisle.
Carlisle nodded. "Well, what you saw today was a direct result of that encounter. We arrived just in time to save her that night and we destroyed James. There were two other members of his coven. Laurent had separated from them that night. He wanted to give our lifestyle a try and I directed him to another family that lives as we do. The third member was James' mate, Victoria. She was helping him find Bella, but she never showed up in Phoenix. In the past months, the rising death toll in Seattle was caused by her recruiting a vampire army. Victoria wanted revenge for her mate's death and decided Bella's life would be the payment. She started turning humans into vampires and then let them hunt freely in the city. They were coming after our family, Bella in particular. We've spent the past week picking off the newborn vampires as we formed a strategy, and today we fought the rest of them. What you saw was the wolves destroying Victoria. She had figured out where we hid Bella and was going after her." Carlisle turned his attention to Sam then. "I must extend our deepest gratitude for assisting us with this matter. Thank you for keeping Bella safe. Thank you for taking out Victoria."
"Not a problem, Carlisle. Thank you for coming back and taking care of the problem."
The two men nodded at each other and a new truce had been made before our eyes.
"So, where does Bella's story fit in all this?" His eyes flickered over to me and I could see the hurt in them.
"I'm so sorry, Dad." Tears streamed down my cheeks, knowing how much pain I'd caused this man.
"I just don't understand. Why would you do something like that? Or was it all a set up?"
I shook my head, but couldn't stop sobbing. Edward pulled me into his chest and tried to soothe me.
"Sir, that was my fault." I felt his chest vibrate as he spoke.
I could almost feel Charlie's angry gaze on Edward. "You have no idea what you put her through." He grit out between his teeth.
"I know, Sir, and I'll never forgive myself for that. I thought I was protecting her. My world was too dangerous for her and I loved her too much to let her be hurt by another of my kind. I wanted her to live a normal, human life, free from the supernatural."
I heard Charlie's shape inhale and when I looked at him, I saw something akin to respect in his expression.
"However, I went about it the wrong way and I said some horrible things that hurt her deeply. I felt I needed to be convincing, and I took it too far. She wasn't able to cope with the pain I'd caused her and did indeed...try..." His voice trailed off and I felt his arms tighten around me.
The room was silent, but I could feel their judgment. At the time, I didn't see another way out. The pain was too much. It was so much more than emotional heartbreak. It was physical pain. It was agony. It felt like a hole had been ripped through my chest and I couldn't breathe from the ache.
"Alice found out what Bella was planning and we got there in time to save her. I pulled her out of the river and we helped her get well, both physically and emotionally. There's more that we need to tell you, but I think that perhaps this has been enough for now?"
Charlie opened his mouth, no doubt he was full of questions, but then he closed it again and nodded.
Carlisle stood then. "We need to get Bella home and set her hand, but we'd be happy to have you over and we can discuss things more."
"You're going to stick around for a while then?" Charlie asked, looking relieved.
"We'll be here for as long as we need to be. We're not going to take off with her, Charlie. You have my word." Esme smiled warmly at him.
My dad's shoulders relaxed then. "Okay, take care of my girl, and I'll come by tomorrow so we can continue this discussion."
"Sounds like a plan. We're at the old house."
Esme and Charlie hashed out a few details, before he headed over to Billy and held out his hand. "It may take me a while to wrap my head around all this, but I'll see you next Saturday for our usual fishing trip." He paused awkwardly. "You don't turn into one of those giant wolves, do you?"
Billy laughed weakly. "No, Charlie. I don't." I wondered how he felt about that.
"Jacob." Charlie shook his hand, then moved on to Sam. "Thank you for keeping my little girl safe. I'm guessing that it was the wolf in you that found her in the woods that night?"
Sam nodded. "Yes, Sir."
"Thank you for that."
"Not a problem. We're the protectors of our people, and that includes Forks. Whenever the Cullens aren't here that is." He smirked. Charlie opened his mouth to ask another question, but Sam held up his hand. "Tomorrow, Charlie."
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks again." They shook hands and then he turned to me. "I'll walk you out."
I said my goodbyes. The exchange with Billy and Jacob was reserved.
"You still have a choice." Jacob reminded me.
"I've made my choice, Jacob." I hoped he'd get the hint.
Emily ran off to her bedroom as I approached Sam.
"Thanks for everything, Sam. You'll never know how much I appreciate it."
"I think I have an inkling." He winked. "Take care, Bella. Be careful and always remember we're here if you need us."
"Thanks." I whispered as we embraced. When he released me, I saw that Emily had returned. Her cheeks were wet with tears.
I gave her a sad smile. "Oh, I'm so emotional these days." She joked, swiping another tear from eye. "Give me your wrist." I looked at her funny, but held out my wrist. She slipped a bracelet around it and tied it quickly. When I brought my arm up closer to examine it, I realized it was several thin strips of intricately braided leather. There were a few beads woven into the design too, and in the middle was a silver button with the image of a wolf etched onto it. "Just something to remember your wolf-girl by." Emily pulled me into a tight hug. "You've become such a good friend in the little while I've known you. Please keep in touch...even after." She whispered the last part so Charlie didn't hear.
"I will. Thank you for everything, Emily." We smiled at one another and hugged once more before Edward led me out of the house.
Charlie followed behind us and I turned to him once we reached the cruiser. He jerked his chin to the side, indicating to Edward he'd like a moment alone with me and Edward obliged him, affording him the illusion of privacy.
"Bells." His voice was choked with emotion. "I just...I can't tell you how good it is to know you're still alive. Thinking you were..." Charlie sucked in a sharp breath and his face contorted in anger. "You were always so strong and independent. I never thought something as common as heartbreak would be so traumatic for you. I'm sorry I didn't do more...that I didn't force you to get help. I never imagined you would..." He huffed. "I'm so thankful I have a second chance. I guess I'm grateful to that boy for saving you, even if he was the cause of all this." His eyes were steely as he met my gaze. "Vampires? Really, Bella? Why the hell didn't you run screaming when you found out?" He shook his head and gripped his short hair in one hand before blowing out a breath and grabbing me into a hug. "I'm just glad you're here. Don't you dare disappear on me again." This was the most emotion I'd ever seen Charlie express and tears spilled over onto my cheeks once more.
"I promise I won't." I made sure to look him in the eye so he knew I meant it.
"I love you, Bells."
I choked back a sob. "I love you too, Dad."
He pressed his lips into a firm line and nodded before getting in his cruiser. "See you tomorrow."
As I raised my hand to wave, cool arms wrapped around my waist and I leaned back into the man who was my everything, needing his support.
"He's so much like you." He whispered. "As long as you're happy...and alive..." Edward paused. "Then he doesn't care so much about the vampire and werewolf thing. He's actually thinking we'd be good additions to the force."
I was a little shocked at the fact that Charlie hadn't freaked out over my involvement with the supernatural, and surprised that he hadn't yelled at me. Renee would have completely lost her mind over the situation. But Charlie and I had rarely had any sort of disagreement. Edward was right – it was clear that I was his daughter. He handled everything with the same sort of ease as I had.
"Let's get you home, love." Edward picked me up and cradled me against his chest. "Close your eyes, we'll have to run." I listened to him and allowed myself to be lulled into a calm haze by the steady movement and his scent. I could tell he wasn't running as fast as he usually did in an effort not to jostle me any more than necessary.
As we emerged from the trees, sudden panic seized me as I wondered if the Volturi were still here. They were the last vampires I wanted to see. Jane's gift terrified me – probably the first time I'd ever had a normal reaction to a vampire since becoming involved in their world. She could incapacitate my family with such ease and Carlisle had been candid when telling us how much she enjoyed causing others pain. Jane had been changed when she was little more than a child and reveled in the power her gift afforded her, when otherwise her size and youth would have placed her at the bottom of the ladder.
Edward sensed my trepidation. "The Volturi has left. Peter and Charlotte are still here, but they're out with Jasper at the moment...tying up loose ends." I nodded absently at the latter, letting relief flood through me that the evil one had left.
We entered through the back door and Alice immediately engulfed me in a tight hug. Almost too tight. "I am so glad to have you back home. I hated not being able to see you." She whispered at lightening speed. "You're safe. We're all safe. Victoria is gone, gone, gone." Her voice took on a singsong quality. We grinned at each other, and then her eyes welled up with venom. "I love you, my sister."
"I love you too, Alice." We hugged once more and then I was passed off to Esme.
"Oh my dear, I'm so glad we can put this all behind us." She hugged me tightly as well. "Carlisle is waiting for you in his office. You go get patched up and I'll make you something to eat." She patted me on the cheek and then shooed me away.
Edward held my good hand as we moved towards the stairs. He stopped at the bottom of them and turned to me. "Tanya is up there." He told me hesitantly and watched carefully for my reaction.
I smiled widely. "Good, I need to thank her." Edward looked baffled at my reply but shook his head and led me the rest of the way to Carlisle's office.
"Bella." Carlisle greeted me with a warm smile and a hug. "Thank God this is over."
"I was just leaving." Tanya spoke softly as she tried to slip past us and out of the room.
"Tanya, wait!" I exclaimed suddenly. Everyone looked at me warily. I closed the distance between us and hugged her gently. "Thank you."
I felt her delicate arms wrap around me as she let out a breath. "I'm just glad you're safe. I wish you and Edward all the happiness in the world. Goodness knows you two deserve it." She pulled back and gave me a kind smile.
"Thank you, Tanya." Edward rested a hand gently on her shoulder. Her smile brightened at his sincerity.
"How's your arm?" I asked her, reminded of the gruesome sight of her limb laying on the ground separate from her body and twitching.
"Good." She nodded. "A little stiff, but it should be completely healed in a couple hours. I hunted on the way in and it helped a lot."
"I'm glad to hear it. I'm so sorry you were attacked like that."
"Don't worry about, Bella. The wolves had no idea who I was. They were doing their job, protecting you."
I nodded, still upset that she had been hurt trying to defend me. Tanya smiled at us both one more time and then made her exit. Carlisle gestured to the chair by his desk and I went to sit. The stress of the day along with the pain medicine I'd taken earlier suddenly crashed down on me and I felt myself slump, exhausted, in the chair. Edward watched me worriedly.
Carlisle's cool hand swept across my forehead in a fatherly gesture. "Just let me set this hand and then you can go lie down."
"She should eat something first." Edward objected.
They were quiet then, and I knew the conversation had turned to a silent one.
Carlisle felt for the break again, and when I winced, he apologized. After injecting a local anesthetic, he manipulated my bones so they slipped into place correctly. "You really should have a cast, but if you promise to not use your hand, I'll let you get by with a brace." I agreed quickly and he fitted the contraption to my hand, immobilizing it. "Ibuprofen will help with the swelling and pain, but if you need something stronger, let me know."
Without the sharp pain in my hand to keep me aware, my body let me know just how exhausted I really was. I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open.
"Thanks, Carlisle." I replied tiredly.
"Esme has dinner ready for you." Edward told me as he led me out of the office. Seeing my steps dragging, he scooped me up and carried me to the table downstairs. I had a view of everyone sitting in the living room and I smiled to myself. My family was safe. My dad was in my life again, at least for the moment. The threat looming over us had been taken care of and no one was seriously injured. I suppose losing an arm could be considered serious, but it healed so quickly that it was actually quite minor in the scheme of things. Esme set a plate with a sandwich and raw vegetables in front of me, and I remember taking a couple bites, but then everything got hazy. The last thing I remember was meeting Rosalie's eyes across the room and the sisterly smile she gave me. The look of tenderness in her eyes was one I'd never seen directed to anyone other than Emmett. My heavy lids gave up the fight then and Edward caught me gracefully as I slumped over the table, falling into a heavy slumber.