Chapter 31:

Bella POV:

I opened my eyes to see Alice staring at me. "Bella? Are you OK? Should I take you to see Carlisle?"

"What?" I said. I was still fuzzy on what was happening.

"Bella, you fainted! I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have told you what I saw until I talked to Carlisle," Alice rushed on.

"No, Alice, I'm OK. Really. Can you put the window down a little so I can get some air?" I still wasn't sure that I wouldn't pass out again.

"Sure, Bella. She pushed a button and the window slid silently down a few inches.

"So, whoever was here, was from the Volturi? Do you think that Aro sent them to spy on me?" I asked.

"I don't know, Bella. Anything is possible with Aro. I need to talk to Carlisle," she said.

"Then let's go talk to him right now," I told her. She looked at me. I knew that "Bella's so fragile" look. I hated that look. "Alice, don't even start. I'm fine and I want to know what's going on. Drive!"

She gave me a small smile in defeat. "Alright. He's still at the hospital." She turned the car on and whipped out of the parking lot. I hoped Dad didn't see that.

We met Carlisle in his office at the hospital. Alice told him what she had seen and what I told her about the missing picture. Thankfully, she left out the part about me blacking out.

Carlisle was sitting behind his desk, his head propped on his left arm and his hand covering his eyes. "Why? Why would Aro send someone here to spy on Bella? And why would he care about Bella being pregnant? He knows that she is not with Edward. Unless he believes, for some reason, that this is Edward's baby. Then he would be VERY interested."

"Have you talked to Edward yet? About this?" I asked him.

He put his hand down and looked at me. "Yes, Bella. I spoke to him last night." He hesitated. He looked at Alice.

"What is it you are not telling me?" I looked at both of them.

"Edward is on his way, Bella. He should be here soon," Carlisle said quietly.

Alice smiled. "Sooner than that!"

Just then the door opened and Edward walked in. He smiled at Carlisle and said, "Hello! I came straight here . . ." he stopped when he saw me sitting there.

I looked at him and said, "Hello Edward."

"Bella. How are you?" he asked politely as he closed the door.

I smiled and replied, "I'm fine. I just survived a shopping trip with Alice. Aren't you proud of me?"

He smiled at that and said, "Yes, I'm very proud of you. Alice is a maniac when she goes shopping."

"I'm not that bad!" she said as she looked at both of us. Then she let out her tinkling laugh and said, "OK, maybe I am."

"Sit down, son. We need your input here," Carlisle said. Edward perched on the edge of the desk. "I told Edward about what happened yesterday, and asked him his impression of Irina. Will you share with Alice and Bella what you told me?"

He nodded. "The time I spent there was not a good time for me," he started quietly as he looked at me.

I looked down at my hands. Because of me.

"I kept to myself mostly. I hunted alone, and spent time playing the piano. I didn't really spend much time around anyone there. Except Irina."

I looked up at him then. He looked at me. "She came to me. She kept offering to listen if I wanted to talk. She told me that she had recently lost someone that she cared for very much and that she knew what I was going through." He stopped and sighed. "I will spare you the details, but, I did finally talk to her . . . about Bella and she told me about Laurent. She and Laurent became . . . mates. They didn't spend much time together, speaking in our terms of time. Laurent was trying to learn our ways, but it was difficult for him. Irina was . . . upset to say the least, when Laurent left. After he was killed . . . well, she has never been the same. She is a very different Irina."

"Different enough to come after me in revenge for the wolves killing Laurent?" I asked.

"I really don't know, Bella. Before I talked to her, I would have said no. But now, I'm just not sure," he answered. "I saw a lot of conflicting things in her head . . . a lot of emotion there. One day she was fine, the next, very macabre. And she really has no love at all for the wolves."

Carlisle looked at Alice and said, "Please share with Edward what you saw earlier today."

She nodded, and Edward looked at her. "What?" he said after a few seconds. He looked at Bella. "Are you alright? Did Carlisle examine you?"

I shot a look at Alice. "I'm sorry, Bella. I can't be selective with Edward. He sees everything," she said as she glared at him.

Carlisle looked at me and asked, "Bella? Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm fine. I blacked out for a second when Alice told me what she saw. I was sitting in the car. I didn't fall over or anything. I'm fine." I added my glare to Alice's at Edward.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I still care about you," Edward said quietly.

"I know." I understood. I just wish he didn't care so much.

"Alright, so now you've seen what we might be dealing with. Let's put this all together and try to figure this out," Carlisle suggested.

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Then Alice's head came up as she looked at Edward. "Really? Do you really think that is a possibility?"

Edward remained quiet, but I knew that he and Alice were still communicating.

"Ew, gross!" Alice said.

"Alright, you two. You need to share with the rest of us," Carlisle scolded.

Edward looked over at me then he looked down and cleared his throat. "When Aro was here before, he was very intrigued with Jacob. He thought briefly of using Jacob for some sort of breeding experiment." He looked over to Carlisle and said, "Apparently he has always been interested in the thought of breeding a werewolf and a vampire in some way to get some super monster. After I explained that Jacob's tribe was different than the Children of the Moon, as he calls them, that it was genetic, he put it out of his mind. But after he saw what they became, how strong and powerful they were, the thought returned."

Carlisle laughed then sobered and said, "You're serious? That is the strangest idea I have ever heard. How could it be done? A vampire could not carry a baby. I wonder, does he have a theory to go on, or is he just imagining this?"

"I didn't get a good enough look into his mind. It was a fleeting thought, so I don't know for sure. But for those few seconds, he seemed very excited - I don't think that he has forgotten it," Edward said.

"So, you are suggesting that he sent someone here to spy on Jacob and Bella? Or maybe on the all of the werewolves?" Carlisle asked.

I was getting colder by the minute. Just listening to them talk was terrifying me. It wasn't me they wanted. It was Jacob!

"I don't know," Edward said quietly. He looked over at me. I'm sure he could see the terror in my eyes. He moved off of the desk and came over to kneel beside me. He reached up and took my hand and said, "I think your hands are as cold as mine."

I gave him a small smile. "Bella. It's alright. We will figure this out. OK?"

I nodded. I couldn't speak. I couldn't do anything but sit there and nod.

Carlisle got up from behind the desk and walked to gaze out the window. Everyone was so quiet. All of a sudden, my phone vibrated in my pocket and I jumped.

"Bella?" Edward asked me.

I reached into my pocket and held up my phone and he smiled at me. "It's Jacob," I said quietly. How could I talk to him right now without him hearing the terror in my voice? "It's after 6:00. I was supposed to be home by now, "I said softly, my voice shaking.

I just sat there and let it vibrate. Then it stopped. I looked at Edward. "I can't talk to him. He will hear the terror in my voice," I whispered.

"He needs to know, Bella," Edward said.

I nodded. I knew he did. I just didn't know how to tell him.

Carlisle came over and held out his hand. "Bella, let me talk to him." I nodded and handed him my phone. "Number 2 on speed dial."

He pushed the button and waited. "No, Jacob, it's Carlisle. Jacob, she's fine. But she is here in my office, and we have had something come up that we need to talk to you about. Alice has seen something. You need to come right away."

Carlisle smiled and handed me the phone. "He's on his way."

I noticed that he didn't mention Edward. Great. That's just what I need. Another thing to worry about. I looked over to Edward who had pulled over a chair and was now sitting beside me.

"Bella. I can leave if you need me to. I don't want Jacob to be any more upset than I'm sure he is right now," he said to me.

"Maybe. I don't know," I answered. I looked over at Alice.

She sat there quiet for a moment then said to Edward, "You should go."

I looked at Edward and said quietly, "I'm sorry."

He smiled and said to me, "It's alright, Bella. I understand. I would feel the same way if it were me." He stood up and told Carlisle, "I will meet you at the house." Then he left and we waited for Jacob.

Jacob POV:

I jumped into the truck and stomped the gas pedal to the floor down the road to Forks. For the millionth time, I wished this truck would go faster. I had too much time to run scenarios through my mind. What had Alice seen? Was it Bella? The baby?

I finally pulled up to the hospital, and ran all the way to Carlisle's office, knocking people out of the way. I threw open the door, slammed it behind me and went right to Bella, who was sitting quietly in a chair. I noticed quickly that she was wearing a new purple shirt, her favorite color. And she looked terrified.

"Bella, honey, are you OK?" I asked her. She nodded. I drew her up into my arms. I just had to hold her.

We stood there holding each other for a few seconds then she pulled away. "I'm fine, Jake. The baby is fine. Sit down, we need to talk to you."

I looked around. Carlisle was sitting behind his huge desk, and Alice was sitting in a chair beside Bella. They both gave me a small, constrained smile. Damn, it stinks in here. I would never get used to being around them like Bella could. I sat down in the other chair beside Bella, keeping a hold of her hand then I said to Carlisle, "Tell me what's going on."

Carlisle started talking. He told me what Edward had told him about the vampires in Denali. "OK, chick vampire out for revenge. We've dealt with that before. Not a big deal," I said. I looked at the three of them and said slowly, "But I have a feeling there is more."

He smiled and said, "Yes, Jacob. I'm afraid there is. Alice had a vision today. She has seen Aro holding Bella's missing ultrasound picture."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I shouted. "He sent someone here to spy on us? Why would he have the picture? Why would he care that Bella is pregnant?"

"I'm not sure unless for some reason, he feels this might be Edward's child," Carlisle explained calmly.

"She is NOT with Edward anymore. He knows that. He knows that this is not some kind of freaky vampire baby." He stopped for a second, and with his eyebrows pulled together, he looked at Carlisle and asked, "Can that even happen?"

Carlisle laughed and said, "Well, technically, it has happened before between a vampire and a human, but usually the human woman dies before giving birth. And no, it cannot happen between vampires."

"OK. So what does the old leech want?" I asked. They were all quiet, and the three of them looked at each other. "Come on, you're all freaking me out here. What does he want?" I said a little louder.

"We're not sure yet. He may just want to make sure this is not Edward's baby, and that' all I hope it is," Carlisle said.

"But you're thinking something else. What?" I insisted.

"Do you remember when I told you that Aro has always been fascinated with werewolves?" he asked me.

I nodded. Then I remembered what Edward told me after the Volturi left that day. Something about using me for breeding. "You have got to be fucking kidding me now. Come on! Edward told me something that day about him thinking about using me for breeding, or something. This is a joke, right?"

"I wish it were, Jacob," Carlisle said. "Edward told Alice what he saw in Aro's mind. When he found out that your tribe passes this on genetically, he thought for a second about taking you, but he saw that was not going to be an option that day. But he obviously didn't forget about his strange idea." He stood up and walked around the desk to stand in front of me. "I have no idea what he is really thinking. I don't know if this is just in his imagination, or if he is actually working on an experiment of some sort. All I know right now is that he is interested in the fact that Bella is pregnant. Alice says that he will contact me soon and ask whose baby she is carrying."

I jumped out of my chair and walked a few steps back and put my hands through my hair. What the hell is happening here? Why can't we live a normal life? I turned around and asked, "What are we going to do?"

Carlisle sighed. "I'm not sure, but I have to be prepared when Aro contacts me. I have to tell him the truth – that this is your baby. I could lie and tell him that she left you for another human, but he would find out eventually. I think it is better to face this head on now."

I nodded and walked back to Bella then sat down and took her hand. "Bella? I don't want you to worry. You know I will protect you and the baby."

"But who will protect you, Jake? What about you?" she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

I smiled and said, "I can protect myself. I will be fine. I have seven other werewolves ready to kill for me. I'm the Alpha, Bella. They have to protect me."

Carlisle said, "I want you to know, Jacob, that my family will also do what we can. We owe you that. Let's wait and see what Aro says when he contacts me. Thanks to Alice, at least we have had a warning, and been given some time to think. We will stay in contact, alright?"

I turned to Carlisle and said, "I will talk to the pack. I appreciate your help, Carlisle. Please let us know as soon as something else happens, and we'll do the same."

He nodded.

"Right now, I want to get Bella home. Come on," I said as I pulled her out of the chair.

She turned to Alice and hugged her. "Thank you so much for today."

"You're welcome, Bella. Oh! I still have all of your bags in the trunk of my car. I'll walk you out," Alice volunteered.

The three of us went to the parking lot. Alice opened the trunk, and I whistled. "Is there anything left in Port Angeles?"

Alice actually smiled at me. That's a first. "Yes, we left a couple of things," she answered with a little sass.

I took the bags and put them in the truck, while Bella said good-bye. "Please call me if you find out anything at all, OK?" she asked.

Alice nodded and waved and walked back inside the hospital.

"What about my car? It's parked at the station," Bella told me.

"Alright. I'll take you there then follow you home."

I opened the truck door for Bella and she climbed in. I walked around, got in and headed for the station.