I watched the tree edge with fear and anxiety, suddenly aware I and everyone else must be causing Jasper a boat load of emotions, but the fear was just over whelming, I glanced around and watched as the Cullen's tried to look like before, but I could see Emmett was stressed, his muscles tense and his stance hard and he eyes now even from across the field I could tell the golden ones I had been looking at just a short time ago now turning pitch black.
They emerged one by one from the forest edge, ranging a dozen meters apart. The first male into the clearing fell back immediately, allowing the other male to take the front, orienting himself around the tall, dark-haired man in a manner that clearly displayed who led the pack. The third was a woman, from this distance, all I could see of her was that her hair was a startling shade of orange.
They closed ranks before they continued cautiously toward the Cullen family, exhibiting the natural respect of a troop of predators as it encounters a larger, unfamiliar group of its own kind.
As they approached, I could see how different they were from the Cullens. Their walk was catlike, a gait that seemed constantly on the edge of shifting into a crouch. They dressed in the ordinary gear of backpackers: jeans and casual button-down shirts in heavy, weatherproof fabrics. The clothes were frayed, though, with wear, and they were barefoot. Both men had cropped hair, but the woman's brilliant orange hair was filled with leaves and debris from the woods.
Their sharp eyes carefully took in the more polished, urbane stance of Carlisle, who, flanked now by Emmett, Lucas and Jasper, stepped guardedly forward to meet them. Without any seeming communication between them, they each straightened into a more casual, erect bearing.
The man in front was easily the most beautiful, his skin olive-toned beneath the typical pallor, his hair a glossy black. He was of a medium build, hard-muscled, of course, but had nothing on Emmett's.
The woman was wilder, her eyes shifting restlessly between the men facing her, and the loose grouping around me, her chaotic hair quivering in the slight breeze. Her posture was distinctly feline.
The second male hovered unobtrusively behind them, slighter than the leader, his light brown hair and regular features both nondescript. His eyes, though completely still, somehow seemed the most vigilant.
Their eyes were the most obviously difference, they wasn't the gold or black I had come to expect, but a deep burgundy colour that was disturbing and sinister. It was the colour of blood.
The dark-haired man, still smiling, stepped toward Carlisle,
"We thought we heard a game," he said in a relaxed voice with the slightest of French accents,
"I'm Laurent, these are Victoria and James." He gestured to the vampires beside him,
"I'm Carlisle. This is my family, Emmett and Jasper, Lucas, Rosalie, Esme and Alice, Liliana, Edward and Bella." He pointed us out in groups, deliberately not calling attention to individuals. I tried to act naturally to this situation,
"Do you have room for a few more players?" Laurent asked sociably.
"Actually, we were just finishing up. But we'd certainly be interested another time. Are you planning to stay in the area for long?" Carlisle matched Laurent's friendly tone,
"We're headed north, in fact, but we were curious to see who was in the neighbourhood. We haven't run into any company in a long time" Laurent answered,
"No, this region is usually empty except for us and the occasional visitor, like yourselves" Carlisle replied still holding the friendly tone.
The tense atmosphere had slowly subsided into a casual conversation, I guessed that Jasper was using his peculiar gift to control the situation, I tried not to draw attention to myself,
"What's your hunting range?" Laurent casually inquired.
"The Olympic Range here, up and down the Coast Ranges on occasion. We keep a permanent residence nearby. There's another permanent settlement like ours up near Denali" Carlisle answered as he ignored the assumption behind the inquiry. I watched intently as Laurent rocked back on his heels slightly.
"Permanent? How do you manage that?" There was honest curiosity in his voice.
"Why don't you come back to our home with us and we can talk comfortably? It's a rather long story" Carlisle extended the invite towards them, I saw James and Victoria exchanged a surprised look at the mention of the word "home," but Laurent controlled his expression better.
"That sounds very interesting, and welcome." His smile was genial,
"We've been on the hunt all the way down from Ontario, and we haven't had the chance to clean up in a while." His eyes moved appreciatively over Carlisle's refined appearance.
"Please don't take offense, but we'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from hunting in this immediate area, we have to stay inconspicuous, you understand" Carlisle explained to them, Laurent nodded
"Of course. We certainly won't encroach on your territory. We just ate outside of Seattle, anyway" he laughed. A shiver ran up my spine, I tried to keep my face as natural as possible,
"We'll show you the way if you'd like to run with us, Emmett and Alice, you can go with Liliana, Edward and Bella to get the Jeep" Carlisle casually added, I was happy this situation seemed to be coming to an end, I wanted to feel safe in Emmett's embrace once again.
Three things seemed to happen simultaneously once Carlisle had spoken. I saw Bella's hair ruffle with the light breeze, Edward stiffened, and the second male, James, suddenly whipped his head around, scrutinizing Bella, his nostrils flaring.
A swift rigidity fell on all of them as James lurched one step forward into a crouch. Edward bared his teeth, crouching in defence, a feral snarl ripping from his throat, and I found myself suddenly standing in front of Bella.
It was nothing like the playful sounds I'd heard from Emmett, it was the single most menacing thing I had ever heard, and chills ran from the crown of my head to the back of my heels.
"What's this?" Laurent exclaimed in open surprise. Neither James nor Edward relaxed their aggressive poses. James feinted slightly to the side, and Edward shifted in response, I gave Emmett a quick glace and saw Lucas had a grip on his arm,
"She's with us." Carlisle's firm rebuff was directed toward James. Laurent seemed to catch my scent less powerfully than James, but awareness now dawned on his face.
"You brought a snack?" he asked, his expression incredulous as he took an involuntary step forward.
Edward snarled even more ferociously, harshly, his lip curling high above his glistening, bared teeth, I reached for Bella and held her wrist in a iron grip of my own, Laurent stepped back again.
"I said she's with us" Carlisle corrected in a hard voice.
"But she's human" Laurent protested. The words were not at all aggressive, merely astounded, it was then I realised I don't think they had caught my sent yet,
"Yes" Carlisle said firmly, Emmett and Lucas had moved and now were very much in evidence at Carlisle's side, Emmett's eyes solely on James. James slowly straightened out of his crouch, but his eyes never left Bella, his nostrils still wide. Edward stayed tensed like a lion in front of us.
"It appears we have a lot to learn about each other" Laurent spoke, his tone was soothing, trying to defuse the sudden hostility.
"Indeed" Carlisle's voice was still cool.
"But we'd like to accept your invitation" Laurent's eyes flicked toward Bella and back to Carlisle.
"And, of course, we will not harm the human girl. We won't hunt in your range, as I said" Laurent confirmed, James glanced in disbelief and aggravation at Laurent and exchanged another brief look with Victoria, whose eyes still flickered edgily from face to face.
Carlisle measured Laurent's open expression for a moment before he spoke. "We'll show you the way. Jasper, Lucas, Rosalie, Esme?" Carlise called. They gathered together, blocking me from view as they converged.
Alice was instantly at our side, and Emmett suddenly beside me, his eyes locked on James as he backed toward us.
"Let's go, Bella." Edward's voice was low and bleak.
This whole time Bella had been rooted in place, terrified into absolute immobility. Edward had to grip her elbow and pull sharply to break her trance.
I walked be hide Bella and Edward, Alice and Emmett were close behind us, hiding me. I kept walking forward still stunned with fear. I couldn't hear if the main group had left yet. Edward's impatience was almost tangible as we moved at human speed to the forest edge.
Once we were into the trees, Emmett was suddenly in front of me and slung me over his back without breaking stride. I gripped as tightly as possible as he took off, following Edward and Alice close on his heels. I kept my head down, but my eyes, wouldn't close.
They plunged through the now-black forest like wraiths. The sense of exhilaration that usually seemed to possess Emmett as he ran was completely absent, replaced by a fury that consumed him and drove him still faster.
We reached the Jeep in an impossibly short time, and Emmett barely slowed as he flung me in the backseat, beside Bella,
"Strap them in" Edward ordered Emmett, who slid in beside me, I didn't even try and fight it.
Alice was already in the front seat, and Edward was starting the engine. It roared to life and we swerved backward, spinning around to face the winding road.
Edward was growling something too fast for me to understand, but it sounded a lot like a string of profanities, Emmett and Alice both glared out the side windows, I glanced at Bella to see horror etched onto her face, I quickly held her hand to try and sooth her.
We hit the main road, and though our speed increased, I could see much better where we were going. And we were headed south, away from Forks.
"Where are we going?" I asked suddenly,
No one answered. No one even looked at me.
"Dammit, Edward! Where are you taking us?" I demanded, Bella jumped at my tone,
"We have to get Bella away from here, far away and now" Edward didn't look back, his eyes on the road. I saw the speedometer read a hundred and five miles an hour. Then a thought ran through my head. Dad.
"Turn around! You have to take me home!" I shouted. I started to struggle with the stupid harness, tearing at the straps.
"Emmett" Edward said almost growling, Emmett suddenly secured my hands in his steely grasp, I gave him a glare as his eyes stayed fixed forward, I almost let out a growl myself,
"No! Edward! No, you can't do this, my dad! Emmett!" I almost yelled, I glared at Emmett and saw him give me a sorry look, I heard Bella gasp,
"I have too Liliana, I have to keep Bella safe, now please be quiet" Edward snapped, I was about to give him a piece of my mind,
"Edward you have to take us back, Charlie will call the FBI! They'll be all over your family, Carlisle and Esme! They'll have to leave, to hide forever!" Bella panicked,
"Calm down, Bella, we've been there before" Edwards voice was cold.
"Not over me, You're not ruining everything over me" Bella said quietly, I was still struggling against Emmett, if I had to I would throw myself out of this moving car.
"Edward, pull over" Alice spoke for the first time, I saw he flashed her a hard look, and then sped up.
"Edward, let's just talk this through" Alice said,
"You don't understand" he roared in frustration. I'd never heard his voice so loud, it was deafening in the confines of the Jeep. The speedometer neared one hundred and fifteen.
"He's a tracker, Alice, did you see that? He's a tracker!" Edward roared, I felt Emmett stiffen next to me, and I wondered at his reaction to the word. It meant something more to the three of them than it did to me; I wanted to understand, but there was no opening for me to ask.
"Pull over, Edward." Alice's tone was reasonable, but there was a ring of authority in it I'd never heard before. The speedometer inched passed one-twenty.
"Do it, Edward" Alice said again,
"Listen to me, Alice. I saw his mind. Tracking is his passion, his obsession and he wants her, Alice her, specifically. He begins the hunt tonight" Edward said in a tense and strained voice,
"He doesn't know where…" Alice said,
"How long do you think it will take him to cross her scent in town? His plan was
already set before the words were out of Laurent's mouth" Edward interrupted her. I gasped, knowing where Bella's scent would lead.
"my house! You can't leave my dad there! You can't leave him! Let me go" I thrashed against Emmett, I knew I was going to bruise but at this moment I didn't care.
"She's right," Alice said, The car slowed slightly.
"Let's just look at our options for a minute," Alice coaxed.
The car slowed again, more noticeably, and then suddenly we screeched to a stop on the shoulder of the highway. I flew against the harness, and then slammed back into the seat.
"There are no options," Edward hissed.
"I'm not leaving my dad!" I yelled towards Edward but he ignored me completely,
"We have to take them back" Emmett finally spoke, finally he was seeing sense.
"No." Edward was absolute, I never wanted to hit someone as much in my life,
"He's no match for us, Edward. He won't be able to touch her" Emmett said to Edward,
"He'll wait" Edward said simply,
"so we can wait, too." Emmett said,
"You didn't see, you don't understand. Once he commits to a hunt, he's unshakable. We'd have to kill him." Emmett didn't seem upset by the idea.
"he wants to kill her." Edward snarled, Bella jumped and suddenly everything came crashing down,
"There are enough of us to protect her and Lil" Emmett said,
"And the female. She's with him. If it turns into a fight, the leader will go with them, too" Edward said,
"There's another option," Alice said quietly.
"There — is — no — other — option!" Edward turned on her in fury, his voice a blistering snarl.
Bella and I both stared at him in shock, but Alice seemed unsurprised. The silence lasted for a long minute as Edward and Alice stared each other down.
"Does anyone want to hear my plan?" as I broke the silence,
"No," Edward growled. Alice glared at him, finally provoked, and Emmett let out a low growl,
"Listen," I pleaded. "You take me back."
"No," he interrupted.
I glared at him and continued.
"You take me back. James will finally catches my sent which will distract him, while you all take Bella and keep her safe" I said calmly, Emmett then growled, and his grip tighten,
"Emmett" Alice said softly, Emmett immediately glanced down and saw the grip and immediately let go,
"not. a. chance." Emmett growled, Edward didn't reply,
"Edward you know it would work" I said ignoring Emmett,
"no!" Emmett growled, making the jeep shake, Bella jumped,
"What if we go back, I tell my dad I want to go home to Phoenix. I pack
my bags. We wait till this tracker is watching, and then we run. He'll follow us and leave Charlie alone. Charlie won't call the FBI on your family. Then you can take me any damned place you want." Bella whispered,
we all stared at Bella, stunned.
"It's not a bad idea, really" my surprise definitely sounded like an insult.
"It might work, and we simply can't leave her father unprotected. You know that, and sacrificing Liliana is not an option" Alice said, Emmett growled again, but everyone looked at Edward.
"It's too dangerous, I don't want him within a hundred miles of her." Edward said,
"Edward, he's not getting through us." Emmett was supremely confident.
Alice thought for a minute,
"I don't see him attacking. He'll try to wait for us to leave her alone." Alice said,
"It won't take long for him to realize that's not going to happen." Edward said as he pressed his fingers to his temples and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Please, Edward" Bella said in a much smaller voice.
He didn't look up. When he spoke, his voice sounded worn.
"You're leaving tonight, whether the tracker sees or not. You tell Charlie that you can't stand another minute in Forks. Tell him whatever story works. Pack the first things your hands touch, and then get in your truck. I don't care what he says to you. You have fifteen minutes. Do you hear me? Fifteen minutes from the time you cross the doorstep." Edward said and the Jeep rumbled to life, and he spun us around, the tires squealing. The needle on the speedometer started to race up the dial, I sighed in relief,
"you too, you better be in that truck" Emmett said staring at me, I nodded.
A few minutes passed in silence, other than the roar of the engine. Then Edward spoke again.
"This is how it's going to happen. When we get to the house, if the tracker is not there, I will walk them to the door. Then they have fifteen minutes." He glared at us in the rear view mirror. "Emmett, you take the outside of the house. Alice, you get the truck. I'll be inside as long as she is. After she's out, you two can take the Jeep home and tell Carlisle." Edward said,
"No way," Emmett broke in. "I'm with you. I'm not leaving Lil" Emmett almost growled, Edward sighed but nodded
"If the tracker is there, we keep driving." he continued grimly, I was about to jump in again,
"We're going to make it there before him," Alice said confidently, I nodded, taking that belief to calm my nerves, Edward seemed to accept that. Whatever his problem with Alice was, he didn't doubt her now.
"What are we going to do with the Jeep?" Alice asked.
"You're driving it home." Edwards voice had a hard edge.
"No, I'm not," Alice said calmly, The unintelligible stream of profanities started again.
"We can't all fit in my truck," Bella whispered, Edward didn't appear to hear her,
"I think you should let me go alone," she said even more quietly.
Edward heard that.
"Bella, please just do this my way, just this once," he said between clenched teeth.
"Listen, Charlie's not an imbecile, If you're not in town tomorrow, he's going to get suspicious." Bella protested, I nodded in agreement,
"That's irrelevant. We'll make sure he's safe, and that's all that matters." Edward said,
"Then what about this tracker? He saw the way you acted tonight. He's going to think you're with me, wherever you are." Emmett looked at her, surprised
"Edward, listen to her," he urged. "I think she's right."
"Yes, she is," Alice agreed.
"I can't do that." Edward's voice was icy.
"Emmett should stay, too, he definitely got an eyeful of Emmett." I said
"What?" Emmett turned on me, as if I was mental,
"she's right Emmett," Alice agreed.
"You think I should let her go alone?" Edward stared at Alice incredulously.
"Of course not, Jasper and I will take her and Liliana" Alice said.
"I can't do that," Edward repeated, but this time there was a trace of defeat in his voice. The logic was working on him, Emmett was silent,
"Hang out here for a week," Bella stopped when she saw his expression in the mirror and amended,
"a few days. Let Charlie see you haven't kidnapped me, and lead this James on a wild-goose chase. Make sure he's completely off my trail. Then you and Emmett come and meet us. Take a roundabout route, of course, and then Jasper and Alice can go home." Bella tried to be persuasive, I could see him beginning to consider it.
"Meet you where?" Edward said through a pained voice, I glanced at Emmett to see he was staring ahead and even when I squeezed his hand he wouldn't look at me,
"Phoenix." Bella clarified, Of course that was her great plan,
"No. He'll hear that's where you're going," he said impatiently.
"And you'll make it look like that's a ruse, obviously. He'll know that we'll know that he's listening, he'll never believe I'm actually going where I say I am going" Bella said, again surprisingly I agreed with her
"She's diabolical" Alice chuckled.
"And if that doesn't work?" Edward said again,
"There are several million people in Phoenix" I informed him, pointing out the obvious,
"It's not that hard to find a phone book" Edward said clearly not amused by my answer,
"I won't go home." Bella answered, oh where would we go then?
"Oh?" he inquired, a dangerous note in his voice.
"I'm quite old enough to get my own place" Bella stated, I almost laughed,
"Edward, we'll be with her," Alice reminded him.
"What are you going to do in Phoenix?" Edward asked her scathingly.
"Stay indoors" Bella said,
"Look, if you try to take him down while she's still around, there's a much better chance that someone will get hurt or she'll get hurt, or you will, trying to protect her. Now, if we you all got him alone…" I said slowly, trying to form the plan in my mind, no one could argue, I was right.
The Jeep was crawling slowly along now as we drove into town. Despite my brave talk, I could feel the hairs on my arms standing up. I thought about dad alone in the house, and tried to be courageous. I had to protect Bella and dad no matter the cost to my own life, I saw Edward suddenly look at me through the mirror,
"I heard that" was his simply statement, I didn't have time to wonder how suddenly he could,
"Bella. If you let anything happen to yourself, anything at all, I'm holding you personally responsible. Do you understand that?" Edward's voice was very soft, Bella nodded,
"Yes," she replied in a just as soft voice, Edward then turned to Alice,
"Can Jasper handle this?" Edwards voice once again strained, did he have no faith in his brother?
"Give him some credit, Edward. He's been doing very, very well, all things considered." Alice said in a reprimanding tone,
"Can you handle this?" Edward asked her, and graceful little Alice pulled back her lips in a horrific grimace and let loose with a guttural snarl that had me almost cowering against the seat in terror, Edward smiled at her.
"But keep your opinions to yourself," he muttered suddenly, Alice nodded, I glanced at Bella,
"don't worry, I'm here with you, all the way no matter what" I whispered to her placing my hand onto of hers, the look of terror across her face, made me want to even more protect her at all costs, suddenly a growl came from beside me, I turned and was only met by a just on wind and a slamming sound, I blinked and saw the space where Emmett was now empty, I frowned.
