Author's Notes: Big thanks to all the reviewers! Tashibi, LehcarMarie, mysteryfan09, sonia48, lena m., midtwilight, tooki13, Aiyami Sakura, Sirithgliniel, smittenbyTwilight, MrsTaylorLautner.X, Lus-In, nessie125, seventeen4ever, Renesmee is Awesome, x-rayLady, Miamore, and ConradKCat! You guys rock.
Let truths be revealed in this chapter!
Disclaimer: The Twilight saga and all characters therein are the creation of Stephenie Meyer. No profit is being made from this fanfiction and no copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter Twenty-One
Questions
I cried out as I saw Heidi's teeth sink toward Jacob's fur. Unthinking, I shoved my arm between her mouth and Jacob, and felt her sharp teeth puncture my skin. I screamed triumphantly. Jacob's head whipped around, snapping onto Heidi's perfect long leg, and he twisted it off.
Biting, tearing, snarling as Heidi was killed, and then the slow burn as Heidi's venom began to work through my system. I stared down at the bite.
Someone was tugging my other arm. "Mom?" I said, seeing Bella's golden eyes in front of me.
"I know what to do," she said, and lowered her head to my arm, sucking the venom back out. Jacob was at her shoulder, staring into my eyes.
The pain diminished and then was gone completely as my mother finished. "There," she said, placing a kiss over the skin already beginning to heal. "You're clean. All better."
Jacob sighed in relief. I didn't think he'd want to be kissing a full vampire for all of eternity. And I didn't think I wanted to be one.
"Ness! Are you all right?" Edward was kneeling beside me. "Bella?"
"Ness, you taste like… I don't know what! Chocolate and lavender, maybe." Bella brushed my face with her hand. "Edward, hon, she's fine. I just did what you did. Remember?" She held up her hand where the faint outline of a scar formed a perfect crescent on her white skin.
Edward was unconvinced. He peered into my eyes. "You feel no pain? No burning? Not even a tingle?"
"No, Dad, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!" My dad was so touchy about unauthorized vampire transformations.
"All right, then." Edward petted my hair and he nodded at Jacob, who nuzzled Bella's shoulder with his snout.
"You're welcome, Jake," said Bella, patting his head. "I just didn't want to listen to an eternity of your complaining, if I hadn't stopped Nessie from being a full-on leech."
I giggled. "You wouldn't want a leech between your sheets, would you, Jacob?" It must have been the close call with danger that made me so bold in front of my parents.
Jacob snorted laughter.
I glanced at my father, but Edward didn't say a word in protest. I could only hope his tolerant mood was here to stay. Rising to my feet, I put my hand on Jacob's chest and we watched the flickering blue flames as Saul and Heidi were consumed.
Chelsea interrupted. "Now wait just a minute." She was so tense that her mouth barely moved. "Heidi and Saul had nothing to do with us. With me."
"Oh, really?" Edward rounded on her. "I'm inclined to finish all of you right here, right now."
"No!" Chelsea blurted. "Please – Edward, I was just doing what I was told. Following orders."
"That excuse has not worked for others in human history. Remember the Nuremberg trials?"
"You don't know what it's like to be part of the Volturi! If we dissented, if there was disloyalty in the ranks, the vampire world would turn to chaos. There would be no one to enforce the law."
I knew that it wasn't Chelsea's persuasive powers that moved me; Bella's shield was certainly up. Rather, it was the fear and sorrow in her eyes. The others – Alec and Govinda – were quiet, their faces carefully blank. If they were saddened or alarmed by Saul and Heidi's deaths, they didn't show it.
"Fine, Chelsea. Tell us why we shouldn't kill all of you," said Tanya.
Chelsea tilted her head proudly. "Gladly. But it might take awhile."
"We have all night," said Edward.
Jacob laid down and I leaned up against his shoulder. The other wolves relaxed, too, and in the sticky heat and the buzzing insects, we listened as Chelsea spoke her excuses.
"The three elders decided that we needed a better system for detecting talent. Also, the revelations brought by your coven made us realize how little we knew about ourselves. If male vampires could – and did – have offspring, the possibilities were endless." Her mouth half-smiled. "You know Aro. He truly is a man of scholarship. We needed to find out more about how the process worked. So, he charged a group of us with establishing a test facility here in Brazil, where it all started. I was needed to help convince the… results… to join our ranks."
"The results?" said Nahuel angrily.
Chelsea ignored him. "It was shortly after the incident in Forks that Saul was turned. We'd killed Joham, the pseudo-scientist, for his flouting of the vampire laws. When it came to our own project, we wanted a real scientist, and as a human, Dr. Saul Ferreira was the leader in his field. DNA analysis, programming the genome, cross-species embryos. With him, we could track talents and powers through the genetic line. After his newborn period, we recruited him. And in return for his services, he demanded that we let him run this facility as he saw fit, with minimal oversight.
"Aro and Caius agreed, and a few senior members of the guard were assigned to help. Heidi and Alec, to lure or trap the hybrids already in existence, and to convince promising humans to go with them. My job, like I said, was to make sure everyone stayed on the same page. Also, to help form couples."
"Couples?" I asked. I thought I knew where this was going, and it wasn't pretty.
"The purpose here was two-fold. First was to transform humans into vampires. Nothing different from what we were doing in Volterra, except that Saul could analyze their DNA first and find the markers of talent in descendants or relatives of known talented vampires. Like Nicole, the niece of your Alice."
We glowered at her.
"Anyway. The second purpose was to breed vampires and humans together, especially talented ones."
"What?" Rosalie exploded. "You just went out and found willing women to do this?"
"I don't know the details," Chelsea sniffed. "You should have asked Saul. He was in charge of arranging such things."
"But you arranged couples, didn't you," Rosalie accused.
"For our permanent residents, yes," Chelsea said, glancing at the group of hybrids. "It was necessary to induce them to form relationships and conceive children."
"Ugh!" I interjected. "That's so wrong!"
"I was just following orders," Chelsea leveled her gaze on me, but there was a pleading in her eyes.
"That's what you were trying to do with me and Nahuel, wasn't it?"
Nahuel's eyes snapped to me.
"I was just enhancing what was already there," said Chelsea.
Jacob growled.
Oh, someone change the subject, I thought, sorry I'd brought myself into this.
"So whose child is she carrying?" Emmett asked, pointing at the pregnant half-vampire woman.
"Saul's," said Chelsea.
Whoa. Quarter-humans?
Jaws were dropping all over the place.
"What? The hybrids are much better equipped to carry the children of male vampires. They're fine."
I met Aylen's eyes, full of dread. Now I understood what she'd been talking about with her brother. The Volturi were going to force her to… mate with a vampire. To be the non-consenting mother of a science experiment.
Rosalie, meanwhile, was in a high fury. "And who are the two human women back there?" she said, pointing a finger at the ward. "They're not fine."
"And do they get to keep their children, should they survive and be turned?" Bella asked.
Chelsea looked uncomfortable. "Well… as far as I know, Saul hasn't turned any of the human mothers. Research suggests that the talents strengthen with each generation and so he waited for the hybrids to –" she broke off. "What! I didn't come up with this plan. Don't look at me like that, any of you."
"Saul was a contractor," said Alec's high voice, piercing the thick air. "In fact, the three elders are on their way, along with the guard, to inspect this place. They were ignorant of the details. Now you've killed the one they would surely have punished on their own." Alec nodded at the thin tendril of smoke that hovered above the funeral pyre. "Chelsea and I were indeed worried by developments here, and asked for Aro's help, for his inspection."
"Worried why?" Bella said. I got the impression that she really didn't like Alec, and I knew she despised Jane, his twin sister. "Because you felt bad for these people, or because you were worried one of them would make you obsolete?"
"It was the old woman," said Alec. "Betty. Her power was dangerous and she was impossible to train."
"Good thing I killed her, then," said Bella.
"Yes, good thing," Alec retorted with what sounded just like teenage sarcasm.
"But what about us?" said Nahuel. "We have no desire to stay here and find ourselves conscripted back into the Volturi's ranks."
"You should be free to go," said Garrett. "No one has the right to tell you what to do."
But then, Carlisle and Esme appeared from the ward. They looked traumatized and weary. Carlisle spoke in a broken voice. "The newborn is – awake. Jasper and Alice are speaking with her, talking her down. And the two women – there's nothing we can do but wait for them." He brushed his hair off his forehead. "Is there anyone here who needs medical attention?"
"Embry has a wound to the abdomen, and Seth's broken a leg," said Edward, reading the pack's thoughts.
Carlisle nodded. "Okay. They'll have to transform so I can tend to them."
I knew that Jacob was hesitating to give the order, since we still had three prisoners, and who knew what loyalties the brainwashed half-vampire, half-human group held? With a paw, Jacob nudged Edward and whined quizzically.
"I think it's fine for you to transform, too," said Edward. "None of them have any intention of fighting or running. And there are more than enough of us to take care of them." That was true; the dozen of us could subdue the three Volturi in seconds.
Jacob walked into the forest to transform. I followed, allowing Jacob a few seconds to pull on his denim cut-offs, then he stepped out from behind a tree, all six-foot-five human glory.
My breath caught. Under the dim light of a half-moon that glowed beyond the cleared skies, he was spectacular: all muscle, strong hands, tapered waist, and then a brilliant flash of white that lit up the gloom. His smile. I flung myself into his arms, pressing myself as close as I could, and his lips were on my neck, kissing me.
"Jake. I'm so glad you're okay."
"I'm glad I didn't transform until now," he said. "Because there were no words for how worried I was about you."
Electricity skittered down my spine as his hands grabbed my hips and pulled me even closer. I tipped my face up and kept my eyes open as he kissed me hard for a few seconds. I clung to Jacob, the only steady thing in a world that was spinning. There was ferocity in his kiss, and ownership – a claim of life over the possibility of death we'd both faced today.
We broke off reluctantly, and my hands ran up his chest and fastened around his neck. His hand brushed against my hair, an impossibly gentle movement after that kiss.
The other Quileutes were transformed, too, and we found Embry and Seth waiting in the circle of destroyed vegetation where the fight had been. Seth's leg was at an awkward angle and he winced as he leaned himself up against a tree trunk; Embry had three gashes across his stomach that oozed blood. It looked like a claw.
"It's too bad this won't scar," said Embry, poking at his wounds. "It would look awesome. Chicks would love it. I could say I was in a fight with a lion."
"All right, let's see what we have here," said Carlisle, appearing with a first-aid box and a splint. "Seth, you first." He felt along Seth's leg with his fingers. "It's a clean break, you're lucky."
"Lucky's my middle name!" said Seth, grinning happily up at us.
Carlisle's steady hands straightened Seth's leg. "Good timing. It was just about ready to grow back together, the break feels resistant to motion. But I won't have to re-break. Here," he said, lifting the injured leg and sliding the plastic splint underneath it. It was a little small for Seth's long limbs, but it would do. With a quick rolling motion, Carlisle secured the splint with tape and patted Seth's knee.
"Ow!" said Seth.
"Sorry!" said Carlisle. "Now you, Embry."
"It's already healing," Embry protested, but Carlisle shook his head.
"I need to make sure there isn't internal damage that will heal badly." With careful hands he probed the wound. Embry took a quick breath through his teeth.
"Does the doctor need any help?" said a shy, accented voice. "Are they badly hurt?"
"Aylen!" I saw that she carried a couple liters of bottled water in her hands. "Hey, good idea."
"I'm pretty thirsty," said Seth.
She picked across the leaves on graceful toes and knelt down beside Seth, holding out the bottle. "Here, I –" she went quiet.
Seth stared at her, his mouth falling open in a comical look of complete wonder.
I heard Edward's sudden laugh through the trees.
"Oh, jeez," said Jacob, rubbing his fingers on the bridge of his nose. "Seth!"
It was as though Seth was deaf and blind to anyone but Aylen. Their eyes were locked and their faces frozen in identical astonishment. Seth reached out a hand to Aylen; she collapsed onto the soft ground, her fingers clutching at the dirt. As we watched, bemused, Seth cleared his throat several times before he spoke. "You're gorgeous." Then his hand, suspended mid-air between them, reached out to tuck her silky black hair behind her ear. His fingers trailed along her jawline.
"Wh-What is your name, please?" she whispered.
"Uh… um… Seth! Seth Clearwater!" Now he sounded like an eager boy.
Leah, who'd joined us from her run around the perimeter, backed away from Seth, shaking her head. "You've got to be kidding me."
"It makes sense, Leah," said Jacob. "Like me and Ness. Why not?"
"No," said Leah, her mouth screwing up. I had a feeling it would turn to tears soon. "Not my brother. He's all I –" It was as though she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, seeing the pure joy on Seth's face, and the enchantment on Aylen's.
Carlisle stood up from Embry and brushed his hands off. He turned and saw Aylen and Seth, still staring into each others' eyes. "Did I miss something?" he asked.
I laughed and skipped over to Carlisle, touching his arm. Imprinting.
Carlisle looked fondly at Seth for minute, like a relative watching a wedding, and then he shook his head. "This day just grows more interesting." He walked off through the ring of trees.
Leah stormed off into the jungle. I heard a crash and realized she'd transformed back into her wolf self. "Keep running a perimeter," Jacob called after her, I supposed to keep her from running away altogether.
"Let's leave them to it," I said, nodding at Seth and Aylen. Seth was already pestering her with questions about herself.
"My brother is half-vampire, like me…" Aylen was saying.
"Heck, no problem!" said Seth. "One of my best friends is a vampire. Edward Cullen. He's Nessie's dad."
Jacob took my hand and led me out of the forest and back into the clearing. For the first time since we arrived here, I looked at my GPS. The time was drawing toward midnight. I couldn't believe how much had happened in twenty-four hours… that just this morning, I'd been battling "Mendel" online, crashing his system… and then the fighting, the revelations, the newborns and pregnant humans and half-breeds and Mendel's identity as Saul Ferreira, the late great geneticist.
I'd also thought-projected in the heat of battle to save Esme, lost and regained my memory, and been bitten by a now-deceased vampire and saved from transformation.
Sheesh.
Jacob and I walked into the clearing to find a calm scene. Edward and Bella, Emmett and Rosalie, and the Denalis stood in a half-circle around the three prisoners, who sat still on the ground. The hybrids were grouped together several yards away; the young boy slept with his head in the lap of one of the women. Nahuel, on the other hand, flicked his gaze down to where my hand was joined with Jacob's.
The disappointment in his face was quickly masked by a wry smile. "Hello," he said.
"Hi," I said, and Jacob nodded at him.
To Jacob I thought, There's nothing to be jealous of – remember, he's going to be a pack brother-in-law, now that Seth imprinted on his half-sister.
Jacob looked down at me. "That's really complicated."
I sighed. Tell me about it. To Nahuel I said, "Are you doing all right? What do you remember?"
He frowned. "Not a lot. After you managed to escape the hovercraft, I assured Heidi and Chelsea that I had no intention of doing the same. We docked up a tributary and ran from there. When I got here I was introduced to Saul, like I was some kind of honored guest, and he took a sample of my blood, to run it through his machine. I found Aylen and managed to get her story; her analysis was completed and she was terrified about being paired up." A shudder ran through his tall, lanky frame. "I told her a little bit about you, how you were bringing help, but not about the internet stuff. I didn't want them to force the information out of Aylen, in case of giving them advance warning. She was fading fast, her spirit gone; she needed a bit of hope."
Jacob and I glanced at each other.
"Saul was coming up with a cloning system, too. He hoped that the hybrids might be able to be grown in vats of blood, like clones, and bypass the need for human women altogether."
"What?" Jacob said. "What is that, some kind of science fiction idea? Saul's been watching too many movies."
"That is seriously sick," I added.
Nahuel agreed. "Anyway, it wasn't a few days after I got here that my memory blacks out. I met that old lady on the first day – Betty. But I only knew her as the memory-snatcher."
"Sci-fi," Jacob nodded.
"Seriously," I said again.
"Yes," said Nahuel, "then Betty the memory-snatcher was gone and I could think again and your coven was here and… where's Aylen, anyway?"
"Yeah, about that…" Jacob began.
He was interrupted by Alice, zipping out of the ward. "Right, people, I need some backup here! Nicole is awake and she's kind of thirsty. Who wants to take her out with Jasper and me to hunt some jaguar?"
Emmett raised his hand so fast it was a blur.
Govinda giggled and Emmett glared at him; that was all it took to make him choke on his mockery.
"Super!" said Alice.
"Are you teaching her to hunt animals, dear?" asked Esme.
"Oh, she already knows all about us, and how we've lived," said Alice. There was a mysterious quality to her voice; I could tell when Alice was keeping a secret.
I looked at Edward, hoping for enlightenment, but Alice must have been guarding her thoughts. She winked and skipped off.
"She's been way too cheerful," said Jacob. "She's up to something."
I think she's more manic, I said. It really bothers her with all these blank spots in her vision. I bet having a straight-up vampire to focus on is a relief. I looked over at the ward, where I saw Alice and Jasper flanking newborn Nicole, whose short blond hair was a helmet of gold in the moonlight. Jasper's posture was wary and defensive, but Alice seemed at ease. Emmett joined them and they vanished into the forest.
"So," Jacob said to Nahuel, "Is there anything to eat around this joint?"
