Previously, on Under a Killing Moon:
Bella wakes up on her 18th birthday "vampire-light" thanks to Renee's illicit relationship with a jealous vampire ten years ago. Edward can't stand Renee's callousness and leaves to sort out his feelings for Bella. She finds him in a meadow and they make out. And, uh, she might be falling in love with him. Maybe.
They head back to her place where Charlie uses his Dad-Vision to assess that her night may have been bad enough that she needs pancakes for breakfast. Edward and Bella can tell there is a slight but noticable difference in her appearance. She tries to explain to him some Keeper genetics and they are rudely interrupted by Jazz and Alice.
They put their heads together to figure out a way to keep Bella out of the hands of the Volturi. Bella falls asleep and her mental sheild breaks down. She decides that Jacob and the wolves are their best bet, since the Volturi will never see them coming. Much to Edward's chagrin, she decides she must do it alone.
*In a revised yet unposted chapter, Bella goest with Mike and Tyler to a party at LaPush her first week of school. There, she is dragged off by Jacob and she reveals the last time she saw him, he was waging Vampire Genocide. The vampire world is ignorant, but Bella can tell there's a war brewing between wolves and vamps. Jacob only confirms this suspicion by telling her it's not too late to pick the winning side. She immediately leaves La Push after she pisses Jacob off. Some of this meeting is alluded to in her conversation with Jacob in this chapter. Also, I decided that BPOV would be much more exciting than listening to Edward wallow over Bella in her absence.*
Twilight and the characters hitherto are not mine.
Chapter 13
BPOV
Edward scowled behind Alice and Jasper as they filed out my front door. Alice said a few words that were probably meant to be comforting, but even behind the closed door Edward's low growl resonated in my own chest.
I took the steps two at a time back up to my room and began tearing apart my room in search of the three essential wardrobe items for possible vampire ass-whooping. Little black dresses were flying around my head a warp speed, stiletto peep toes left scuff marks in the wall as they hit, clothes were flipping off the hangers all over the closet. Hurricane Bella was in full effect. After the third tsunami of ballet flats and Converse, I found my black riding boots.
Because, as hot as it looks, you just can't used mixed martial arts in a set of heels. Besides, knee high boots are a lot less likely to fly off your feet in the middle of snapping a vampire's neck.
I found the t-shirt and jeans I was looking for, but not before I noticed something strange. The more I thought about moving clothes and shoes out of the way, the more they flew by themselves. I just spent the night and most of the morning in a coma because my mutant DNA bonded with vampire venom, and I'm worried about telekinetic closet combing? Get it together, Bella! I pulled on a pair of worn black skinny jeans, my favorite for vampire scoping, and a Cure shirt for irony. After I pulled my boots on, I stopped at the full length mirror to pull my hair up into quick bun and sprinted down the stairs.
I jumped over the banister for good measure. I resisted the urge to slide over the hood of my car.
The streets of La Push were deserted as I made my way to Jacob's. I noticed several tan-skinned faces poking out through curtains as I drove past. Something twisted in my chest and I knew that whatever was going down on the Res had everything to do with the impending vampire battle on my behalf. I sunk down in my seat and pulled a pair of huge sunglasses on.
Having an argument with Jacob Black I could handle. I could even win it. Hell, I could probably hold my own if the verbal sparring turned into something more physical. What was not on my agenda for the day was running into an entire pack of shape-shifting, testosterone driven werewolves. And the community that worshipped them. Angry mob and pitchforks? Nope. Definitely not on today's to-do list.
The homes became sparser and more run-down further into La Push. A group of giant Native boys leaned against a fence on the side of the road. They crossed their arms in front of their chests as I passed and I was sure most of them were full-phasing wolves. Whether they could smell that vampire all over my car or see some kind of weird vampire-loving aura glowing around me, they definitely knew my presence had everything to do with their mortal enemies. Maybe they were just hoping Edward had come along for the ride and they'd have the opportunity to try to tear him apart. Hah! Fat chance wolf-boys! I smiled and waved at the group of naked torsos before I finally reached my destination.
I stared at the peeling red paint of the dilapidated one-story home and tried to remember a time when Jacob and I were just kids. There must have been a time when we built sandcastles on the beach or ate mud pies together. Come on, you have to have some kind of connection to this kid! The only thing Jacob Black and I had in common were our lost childhoods. I reached for the door handle, determined to speak with Jacob, and flung the door open.
You can do this, Bella!
Before I reached the door, Billy Black swung it open and eyed me wildly. He'd always had a real tribal knack for knowing things he shouldn't. I had a feeling he knew what I was before I did. It shouldn't have surprised me when he knew I was there before I knocked. I wasn't exactly being stealthy. Sneaking up on a werewolf is an incredibly stupid thing to do.
"What are you doing here, Bella?" Billy's gruff voice echoed down the porch steps and I stopped.
"I need to see Jacob." I rested against the railing and waited for the green light to proceed to the front door.
"You know that's not a good idea. In fact, by the smell of things, you shouldn't have even come here."
"Billy," I sighed, "I'm not a fricken vampire and I don't have any with me. Let me talk to Jake. The sooner I see him, the sooner I can leave."
The naked torso gang moved from their post and was beginning to walk towards the Black house. They'd probably caught a whiff of Edward's scent. I remained still on the bottom of the porch steps and listened to the footsteps come closer and closer. There were two options for this particular predicament, and neither of them seemed promising. I could make a run to my car and hope I could get to the Cullen house before the wolf pack tears me apart, or I could stand my ground and hope that their need to tear apart vampires was greater than their want to attack me.
"Bella." Jacob stood at the top of the stairs and stared down at me. The group of wolf-boys stopped in their tracks. Jacob's dark eyes searched me malevolently and I began regretting my visit to the reservation all together. There was no way that arrogant Alpha was going to help me out, no matter how I spun the story.
"Hello, Jacob." I tried to sound as calm as possible, which was made difficult by the number of werewolves gathering around me.
"You smell like a leech." He sniffed and nodded to the boys behind me. They took off in different directions and I suspected they were searching for my vampire posse.
"I didn't bring any reinforcement. I actually came to ask for a favor." I stood up straight and stared at him.
"Be careful, Jake." Billy rolled back into the house as Jacob descended the stairs and stood in front of me.
He was easily almost twice my height with every muscle on his body was perfectly chiseled. If that wasn't intimidating enough, his dark eyes darted around then settled on my face. They were full of so much malicious intent that it made me shiver. Certainly asking for the aide of Jacob Black and his pack was like making a deal with the devil. Maybe Edward wasn't overreacting. Maybe I shouldn't have come at all.
"It's all clear." The smallest of the group yelled as the rest came to join.
"You can call me a lot of things, boys, but stupid isn't one of them. I came to ask for a favor, not start a war. So, Jake, can we chat?" I was growing impatient.
"We don't trust her." A rather large member of the pack spoke up. He was gunning for Jacob's spot as Alpha; that much was obvious by the challenge in his eyes.
"Excuse me, ladies. Why don't you back to playing skins on skins and let the adults talk," I snorted.
"Guys, get out of here. And Bella, unless you want to see my pack in action, I suggest you don't antagonize them." He shot me a wicked glare as he waved the gang away. I followed him around the house and into the garage. I was trying to control my adrenaline and decide on the best way to get Jacob to agree with my plan.
See, werewolves are a lot like human boys. They're stupid and hormonal and they like to be right. The specific problem with wolves is not that they are genetically programmed to rip every vampire apart. Although that is often very inconvenient for me. Vampires are biologically frozen at whatever state they are changed in. Their bodies will always look the same, but with a lot of time and practice they can override their impulses and mature. Werewolves, on the other hand, are chock full of so much testosterone they hardly stand a chance at maturity. Between the constant shape-shifting and hormonal scale-tipping, practicing wolves can pretty much stay as young and stupid as they want.
Jacob cleared his throat and gestured for me to get on with it.
"You were right." Phase one: stroke the ego.
"Naturally. What was I right about now?" He preened for a moment before waiting for my answer.
"About the Volturi. It seems as though I have just about outgrown my usefulness." As a human. But, that's just semantics…right?
"They're coming for me," I sighed and sat against the hood of some old car.
"What's that got to do with me? Get one of your Cullens to help. His scent is all over you."
"That's the problem. They're going to expect the Cullens. Who knows how many Volturi guards are coming. They won't expect your pack to be there. You'll catch them completely by surprise." Phase two: stroke the ego some more.
"The treaty, Bella. I can't just go running around and popping off vampires around here." He was getting ready to dismiss me.
"That's just it. Only the Cullens are covered by the treaty. You've got three nomads running all over the Olympic peninsula and you can't catch them. You've also got the entire Vampire hierarchy coming into town," I slinked past him and stood in front of the door.
"What do you know about the nomads?"
Is he serious? I fucking track vampires in my spare time.
"Just that they're definitely going to rendezvous with the Volturi. I'm pretty sure they were sent here to snuff me out." I crossed my arms and leaned against the door frame.
"I have been tracking those bastards for the better part of a summer."
"There's no way they could challenge you for Alpha, Jake. You'd be going up against the Volturi. When was the last time anybody's pack got to have a go at them?" Phase three: convince him it was his idea.
"I could take down every one of them myself," he sniffed.
"Okay, but you want the rest of the boys to stand witness. They'll never challenge you again. Think about it? It's the best idea you've ever had."
"You're right! Why didn't I think about it sooner! Are you playing Double Agent Swan, or what? What's your interest?" He shifted his weight and leaned into me.
"Personal."
"Well, you better wash that stink off of you. Not that I care if they kill that lanky little vampire, but I'm assuming this 'personal' bullshit has a lot to do with him." He leered down at me. "You know, it's not too late to pick the right side, Bells. It's not like you can go back to policing the gap between the leeches and humans. Someone will catch you. They're going to know it was you that called me and the pack in."
"I appreciate the offer," actually, it made me vomit a little in my mouth, "but the only thing I plan on leaving behind is my ghost." He was hovering too close to me.
"I'm more of a man than that bloodsucker can ever be." Before he could finish his sentence, he had me trapped between both of his arms.
"I didn't bring any vampires with me, but they sure as hell know where I am," I said through gritted teeth.
"They won't get anywhere near here. I can promise you that." His face was close against my neck and he was sniffing me. "What did they do to you? You reek."
"You need to step away from me."
"Aren't I doing you some kind of favor?"
"Jacob, I think you need to step away from me." I reached my arms up into a defensive position and he grabbed them both and pinned them back.
"You don't honestly think you can overpower me? You might be able to get one over on those frosty bastards, but honey you're not getting away from me so easily."
It was like I spontaneously combusted.
"I SAID STEP AWAY!" I heard my voice yelling and Jacob was flying across the garage. I was enveloped in some kind of force and my body was shaking. Jacob was trembling too, and I scrambled to my feet in anticipation of his phase. My body was flattened against the wall and I blanched as he lifted himself off the ground and glared at me.
"What the hell was that?" His yelling drew the attention of a few pack members and I sensed them locking down the perimeter.
"I don't know," I replied. And I honestly didn't. I could still feel whatever force had thrown him around me, though it was quickly starting to dissolve.
"You should probably go before they decide to mutiny and attack us both," he growled. He slipped past me and I heard him talking to another pack member. His words were lost inside my head and I squared my shoulders and followed Jacob's path outside.
"We'll be watching you, leech lover!"
"You better mind your bloodsuckers!"
I dodged their looks and insults as I slipped back into my car. It wasn't until I was safely outside the La Push limits that I felt myself breathing. What the fuck are you thinking? Werewolves, Bella? Really? I sighed and thought about the next confrontation on my "to-do" list. Renee.
My mother was probably going to be worse than a pack of wolves. After all, she basically sold me into slavery. Naturally I could assume all bets were off. She would never approve of fighting the Volturi.
"That just isn't what we do, Bella!"
I could hear her already, like so many times before.
"That just isn't what we do," she sighed.
"Well what do we do, then?" I asked, looking up from my homework and staring at my mother.
She and a woman I would never get to know were working on setting her broken arm.
"Because, Isabella, we are not here to kill vampires," she replied in a strained tone.
"But they're killing us first!" I slammed my ten-year-old fist on the table then stormed out of the tent.
"Bella, we just weren't made to kill them. Just like rabbits weren't made to kill us," she called after me as she left her friend behind and caught up with me.
"I don't understand!" I was crying. Two vampires just swooped in and took out half the camp before they could stop them. She grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into her.
"Look, honey, I know it doesn't make sense to you now. But it will." She hugged me tight then let me go just enough to look into my eyes. "As long as you pay attention to our sessions and run drills with me, you'll never be casualty. I promise."
My memory faded as I drove down the Cullen driveway and parked next to Edward's Volvo. The atmosphere at the Cullen mansion was charged and I knew it had everything to do with Renee. Edward wasn't home; she'd probably chased him away with her scattered thoughts and ridiculousness. I found Renee in the Cullen kitchen, of all places, making macaroni and cheese.
"It was your favorite when you were little," she said without looking up.
"Every kid likes mac and cheese," I replied, leaning against the counter. "What are you doing?"
"I'm your mother, Bella. I think you could must up a little respect." Her eyes finally met mine and narrowed. The glaring could have been the result of my snickering.
"Mom. Renee. Mother. You sold me out to the most lethal vampire coven in the vampire world. And it was your libido's fault I ended up in that situation in the first place. So please, spare me the 'I'm your mother' bullshit."
"Isabella Marie Swan! I am your mother whether you like it or not. I have always taken care of you. Don't be so ungrateful. What were you going to do the rest of your life anyway?" She stopped glaring at me returned to her pot of mac and cheese.
"Gee, I don't know Renee." I hoped up on the counter and turned my back to her. "I thought maybe I'd have a kid then sell her into vampire slavery." I heard her spoon clatter to the floor.
"I did what was best for you. Honestly, Bella, it was a means to an end. If we don't die fighting, we become vampires. You've known this since the first story I ever told you. Why are you meeting me with just resistance?" Her voice rose to incredible decibels by her last sentence. I felt my body shaking with anger.
"I thought I would be able to make my own decisions!" My ears rang with my own screaming.
I watched Renee fly backward into the sink and the macaroni exploded on the stove. The glass cabinets in the kitchen shattered and shards glittered in the air while they fell to the floor. My muscles tightened in my diaphragm and I doubled over onto myself. Footsteps came from all directions and became deafening by the time they reached the kitchen. I heard Edward call my name, but all the sounds bled together and echoed in my head.
"Bella! Bella? Are you okay?" His frantic touches quelled my contracting muscles, but it didn't do much for the searing pain that followed.
Renee's high-pitched-girl-laughter rumbled out of her from her seat in the sink. Edward's grip tightened around my scarred wrist, and I sat up to see if my mother finally drove herself crazy. She was maniacal.
"Bella! Your gift! The shield!" She wasn't even speaking in full sentences. I looked to Edward to translate.
"Whatever just happened here is apparently a manifestation of your shield," he said through gritted teeth.
Carlisle approached me carefully and crouched down on the side opposite Edward. He checked my pulse, listened to my heart and scoured my limbs for broken bones. Renee pulled herself out of the kitchen sink and skipped over to me. Esme and Jasper stayed near the door. I could feel that Jasper was trying to calm me down.
"My beautiful daughter," two hands grabbed my face and suddenly I was eye-to-eye with the woman who was supposedly my mother, "you're going to be one of the most powerful vampires the Volturi have ever seen." She beamed at me and Edward was dangerously close to snapping my wrist.
I had had it. Jasper sent emotions over to me in bulk, I imagined each hit my invisible walls and collapsed to the floor around me. I shrugged out of Edward's grip first then shook my head away from Renee.
"Renee, I am not going to become a member of the Volturi," my voice was quiet and she tried to pretend she didn't hear me.
"Renee! I will not be joining the Volturi. Ever." Yelling got her attention and her eyes widened.
"Of course you are. Don't be ridiculous. I know you're mad about the whole thing, but you'll come around. Especially when you realize just how powerful you are." She patted my head like she used when I was younger and didn't understand the way our world worked.
"You don't understand. I don't want to do it. I'm willing to fight for it. They are willing to fight for it." I made huge arm gestures to include Jasper and Edward. Carlisle laid a gentle hand on my shoulder and Renee looked at us both dumbly.
"Fight for what? You can't be serious about this. They'll likely kill us all," she warned.
"I am serious. I'm not going to pay for your bad decisions anymore. And trust me, Mom, I've paid for enough of them already!" I shot up from the floor, grabbed Edward's hand and dragged him out of the kitchen.
I couldn't deal with her anymore. I knew what speech was coming next. Think of how much I've sacrificed for you! Yeah. Right.
"I know she's your mother, but I'm finding it difficult not to kill her right now," Edward finally said.
"Join the club. We have our own T-shirts," I huffed as I took the stairs two at a time to keep up with him.
"Where's Alice?" I managed to gasp as he pulled me into his room and placed his lips on mine.
"Her visions weren't making sense; she and Jazz are trying to pick up the nomads' scent. I was keeping an eye on your mother. And waiting for you to return safely." His mouth twitched into a crooked smile and his fingers wound around mine.
I relaxed against the door and met his tawny gaze. His nose was slightly wrinkled, probably in response to the wolf-y fragrance I was covered in. The warm, electric current ran between our connected bodies and filled the air of Edward's bedroom. He planted another kiss on my lips and shifted his hands out of my grip and ran his fingers up the side of my body. His smooth tongue slipped through my lips and I met it with my own.
I felt his hands move back down my body grip my hips gently. Swiftly, he swept me up in his arms and my fingers ran frantically through his hair. When his tongue left mine alone, I responded by wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him close. My legs wrapped around his waist, his arms wrapped around my hips and our tongues tangled together in another one of those star-aligning moments. We were suspended in some kind of alternate universe. The only two thoughts that could form in my head were closer and I love you.
He halted and brought me back to our original place in the Time-Space continuum. I was gasping for air and already feeling his absence.
"You really love me?" He looked alarmed.
"I don't think I know what love is, but I imagine it feels a lot like this." The electric current buzzed around my head and I wondered if it was a side effect of making out with a vampire. I jumped out of his personal space and crossed my arms.
"If you tell me you don't see what's happening between us, I will slay you." I was only half joking.
"Put the stakes away, Buffy. You loving me is—"
"Perfect," Alice finished from the patio door.
For a vampire with special abilities, Alice had terrible timing.
"Honestly, Edward. Just tell her how you feel. We have a serious situation on our hands here," she huffed past us both and left through his bedroom door.
I stared after her and wondered if I was going to hulk out. And then I remembered I never actually said "I love you," I was only thinking it.
"How did you know?" I asked, spinning on my heels to face Edward again.
"I heard it. You were thinking it." He shrugged.
"Okay, so you can read my mind when I am sleeping and making out with you? That is fantastic." A string of profanity was about to be released when he grabbed my face in his hands.
"Isabella Swan, I love you."
"Edward , I love you , too."
"FINALLY!" Alice's child-like voice called from downstairs, "do you think you could join the rest of us now?"
Edward's hand found the small of my back as he led me down the stairs. Our fingers found each other as we sat down at the big dining room table.
"There's a complication," Alice began, "they're heading to where Bella's scent is the strongest. Of course, that starts with Charlie's house, but no one will be home. The next stop is going to be the school. Did you guys know its homecoming tonight?"
a/n: so much for getting this baby done by the new year. i really tried, but it took me almost three months just to revise chapter 4 (which is now posted as chapter 2 to this story along with chapter 3...or can be found as chapter 4 on Twilighted). all i can really say for myself is that the story does have an ending and i am planning on completing it, but you know how being an adult always gets in the way of anything you want to do.
there's still a relatively dead forum over on Twilighted, in case you're interested.
WIDE AWAKE is finished and the most spectacular thing ever. Just saying. If you have not read, I SUGGEST YOU DO IT. Look for it at Twilighted. It's the reason I even started reading fanfiction.
If you get fed up with my lack of updating or are looking for something awesome to read while waiting for my relative fail:
Living Backward by ciaobella27
Fault by ineedyoursway
La canzone della Bella Cigna by philadelphic
The Naked Guy Upstairs by AngryBadgerGirl
Son of a Preacher Man by LaViePastiche
Breaking Bella by sixeightshuffle