Chapter 36: Oxford

~Edward~

When we were racing to England to get our children out of danger, the idea was to stay together. With the new visions Alice had seen in correlation with Lily's dreams and the need to press on for answers, Bella and I made the decision to go on to Oxford leaving our children behind with Esme along with Emmett and Rosalie. Leaving this time had been even more difficult because both of our children cried for us not to go. We had done our best to explain to Renesmee why we were leaving, assuring her that we wouldn't be gone for long, but the tears came regardless. Anthony wasn't old enough to understand why we were going and had begun to cry when his sister did. My thoughts were on them as Bella and I made our way through the dark landscape, moving on foot toward Oxford. Both of us agreed that moving by foot was safer. It wasn't the first time we had traveled in such a way. My wife was following close behind me, though her thoughts were her own. Neither of us hadn't said much since leaving the manor. We had already made our way through London, leaving the last of the city behind us as buildings disappeared and the vast English Countryside stretched out ahead.

We stayed away from the roads, traveling through fields and when we could, in wooded areas. Bella ran beside me. When she took my hand we slowed down not needing to move as fast and stealthily, though still remaining on alert for anything or anyone who might happen our way. "Do you think after this is all over we could come back and see London?"

"I think we could manage that," I agreed which made my wife smiled.

"There is so much to see of that city. When I was still human, before we even met I always thought how neat it would be to explore all London has to offer. especially going to see plays, going to the Shakespeares Globe. I can still remember how much I wanted that, it is one of the few clear memories I have from when I was still human that didn't have you in my life."

"I think you would enjoy London and there is a lot to see, not only plays but the museums and even the people. They are so different here than they are in America. You would perhaps be surprised how much more accepting of our kind they are. I haven't met anyone in particular but when they see us they aren't as shy and stand offish."

My wife glanced at me as we continued our journey, "Do they ever try and guess what you are, well we are?"

For a moment I thought back to my encounters with a few Londoners remembering first how attracted they were by me, before they noticed my differences. "The few that I've actually met and spoken with don't really try and guess if I'm human or not, it's more that they notice that we do things more intensely. Their reactions remind me of how it was with your mother when we visited her in Jacksonville." That was the best way I could describe it and after a moment Bella seemed to understand.

"Do you ever go to any of the clubs?"

I smiled recalled a few times where my brothers, sisters and myself had gone to some of the clubs. "A few here and there." I gave her hand a squeeze and Bella stopped us.

My wife was still stronger than me. In a second, even less than that she was in front of me. An instant later we were holding one another as our lips pressed together in an intense much needed kiss. All of my senses were on guarded alert while at the same time my hands moved in all the right places while our lips still moved together and our tongues swirled and pushed for control. Her hands on my body were like a fire scorching my skin and I felt my control beginning to slip. We were miles from any form of civilization in a field with tall weeds. It wasn't the most ideal place for this sort of thing, though when my Bella's lips began to replace her hands traveling down my chest, bare from where my shirt had once been, where we were and what was needed slipped to the back recesses of my mind.

It was a while later when we resumed our travels, and I held my wife's hand secure in my own. Just as I was about to tell Bella about Oxford a slight breeze blew against our faces and with it the scent of a werewolf. As my mind processed that particular smell, I felt Bella's hand pull away from mine. A second later she was running ahead of me. I bolted after her smelling another werewolf while at the same time feeling my right side pocket vibrating from my phone. "Bella," I said as I caught up to her.

"I'll kill them," she growled as I grasped her hand with mine. The weeds were taller but we didn't need sight to know that we were gaining on them. There were two and I could hear their ragged breath as they ran away from us having not anticipated that the wind would blow their scent to us. There was a smell of wet dog like with the Quileute wolves but also a different smell - more woodsy mixed with perspiration. They were scared and with good cause. I was tempted to let Bella at both of them knowing they wouldn't stand a chance against her, but we needed to keep at least one alive so we could possibly get some answers.

"We need to keep one alive," I whispered though even I was having a difficult time controlling the myriad of emotions I was feeling about letting them live. Bella picked up her pace as we got closer and again her hand slipped from mine. She leapt first and I followed her lead. My wife landed behind one of the wolves. He turned snapping at her but my wife wasn't in danger. It was still hard for me to focus on the other who had turned on me, circling me while Bella took care the wolf she had leapt behind quite effectively. There was snapping of bones along with the pungent scent of his blood as she ended his life.

"No Bella," I told her when she turned to the one circling me. My wife shut her eyes breathing deeply to gain control, while the other wolf lurched toward her. With the ease of many years of practice catching prey, I grabbed him around the mid section, pinning him down to the ground as he growled and snapped.

"How do you get it to turn back," my wife growled.

"We have to wait," I said as the wolf tried to escape. An hour passed as the wolf continued to struggle. I was amazed at his persistence. I'd tried to pick up on his thoughts but all I was getting were angry slurs of swear words all thought in German.

"What is he thinking?" Bella asked from a few feet away.

"He's very angry," I said humored by the wolfs attempts to get away.

"Does he understand you?"

I took a moment to hear his thoughts before shaking my head. "He's thinking in German, mostly swear words at that." Another half hour passed before the wolf stopped struggling while I sat beside him, able to hold him with just a hand on his back. He fell into a nervous stupor and as he did the smell around us began to change. It was still very pungent but there was a new scent, that of a human. His body began to shift and in a few seconds there was a man under my grip instead of a wolf. The transformation was much like what I recalled of the Quileute wolves but it didn't seem to be anything the man could control.

My wife got up slowly walking over to us as the man began to shake in his slumber. Bella took off the backpack she was wearing, pulling out a blanket to drape over him before she sat closer to me. "Do you know how they came about? Did they have a beginning or did it just happen like the rest of us?"

"There are many stories, mostly myths about how they came to be. In the mid fifteen hundreds there was a small town in Germany where the people had been seeing a large wolf. They sent their dogs after it. When they found and began to attack the wolf, the animal stood on its hind legs and became a man named Peter Stubbe. It was said that he had practiced sorcery and made a pact with the Devil. He used a magic girdle attacking his enemies both imagined and real. After a few months he was able to take the form of a wolf. There are accounts that this man truly existed though whether or not it was true has never really been proven."

The man beneath my hand shifted and his heart rate began to pick up. He opened his eyes gasping as he saw the two of us. It had been a while since I'd had to speak in German though it was simple enough to ask his name.

The man glanced from me to my wife debating on whether or not to answer me. He didn't seem surprised that I could talk in his native tongue.

"You will answer me," I said still speaking in German. My hand against his mid section tightened and he shut his eyes before opening them.

"Daniel," he told us.

"Why were you tracking us?" I asked as Bella watched intently.

"I don't remember." He was lying and I tightened my hand further as he gasped out in pain.

"This can be easy or difficult."

"Please have mercy. We do not wish to do this."

"Then why do you persist?" I asked having a hard time not snapping him in half as my other hand twitched at my side. When Bella grasped it I was able to focus more and stopped holding Daniel quite so tight.

"I will die if I tell you."

My face remained unsympathetic as I leaned closer to him. "You will die if you do not."

The man sighed. "It is my master's wish. You will not get any more from me so end my life and my suffering."

"No, I think you can come along," I said as I stood, pulling the short man to his feet.

"I will make you kill me." His thoughts shifted and I heard what he had been thinking the day he walked in front of our first home spotting my human wife in the kitchen.

Bella was suddenly pulling me back holding me immobile as my hands dropped at my sides. She had noticed my shift in mood and I growled at the man as he laughed and began to run away with the blanket wrapped around his waist. "I will kill him," I whispered not trying to fight her, knowing that if she let him go I would do just that.

"What happened?"

"He's the one who came to the house that day and burned it down."

My wife growled but maintained better control of her emotions than me which was amazing because she was so much younger in this life. When I began to calm down Bella loosened her grip but didn't let go. "Why?"

"He is doing what his master wants. I tried reading his thoughts but they shifted too fast to that day when you saw him through the window in our kitchen."

"Do we follow him?"

"From a distance. It could be a trap so we need to be careful."

Bella nodded as she let me go taking my hand in hers. Before she started to walk I pulled her into my arms. My wife pressed her cheek against my chest as she put both arms around me. "I love you."

"You are amazing and I am grateful that you noticed my control slipping."

"You've done the same for me," she whispered as she tilted her head up. I pressed my lips against hers wanting to do more only we had a job to do. Without further delay we began tracking the man who was already a mile ahead of us, still running even though he was very winded.

It was evening before he stopped to rest nearing Oxford which surprised me. When I told Bella of my surprise she asked me why I was.

"I would have thought he would try and find a way into Germany," I said whispering so softly that only she could hear me.

"Do you think he's been tracking us since we left, or was it just random luck that they happened upon us?"

"In human form they can't smell us. In their wolf form their senses would allow for that. I think they may have followed us here and knew we were close to London. My phone buzzed and I picked it up not surprised to find Alice on the other end. "I lost sight of you," she said.

"We had an encounter," I replied, telling her about the two wolves. "You are able to see the future again?" I asked.

"It started coming back on the plane. We are in Biloxi now getting ready to start looking at records in the library. Edward be careful. I can't see what is going to happen but something feels out of place."

"Do you think it would be better for Bella and I not to track this man?"

"I don't know. I wish I could tell you."

Bella stood next to me and there was fear in her eyes. "Good luck, we need to go."

Once I had the phone back in my pocket, my wife moved in front of me. "She's worried?"

"She can't see us or what lies ahead. Her visions started to come back on the plane, and they are in Mississippi now."

"Maybe we should go at it another way. There is more than way to get in to the city."

My wife had a valid point and I agreed not willing to put us at risk of getting caught. We back tracked a few miles and began to head in a northwest direction toward the city as opposed to the southeast direction that the man was taking. The closer we got the more guarded I was of myself and my wife. I began listening to the thoughts of the people who were beginning to prepare for the evening. There were many to sort through and my focus was on anything pertaining to vampires, werewolves or any of our various last names. There was nothing in the thousands of thoughts my mind was able to sift through with ease. We were both still on alert as we finally entered the outskirts of the city. The smells were a mixture of humans, exhaust from cars, sewage and various sorts of foods being prepared for an evening meal. "Do you feel like hunting?"

"Where can we hunt?"

"We can back track a little. There are some forests not to far from here and to be truthful it might be better to wait it out a little before we go any further."

When my wife agreed we held hands as we ran toward the forest.

Once we had fed until we couldn't drink anymore both of us felt better about going back to the city. By that time it was late evening and most of the residence were preparing for bed or were already asleep. It was easier for me to read thoughts, although I didn't pick up anything pertaining to us or the wolves. I was sifting through the thoughts when I came upon Daniel's. By that point we were walking in an alley. I grasped Bella's hand as we stopped and she began to glance around so I could focus on what the man was thinking about. He was afraid as he checked into a hotel on the other end of the city, though of what his thoughts didn't specify. His mind began to drift after a while and it was clear that he was starting to go to sleep.

"Do the wolves turn due to stress or just random."

"Random most of the time. He's asleep," I whispered and she stood next to me as I focused on him. Daniel began to dream, and in his dreams his thoughts began to ramble while at the same time focus on a specific point in time where he had been caught by a group of vampires. One among them was the same man I'd seen from Alice's vision and heard about in Lily's thoughts. While I listened to his dreaming thoughts, I told Bella what I was hearing. "He's thinking about Joham," I said.

"Are they close?"

"I'm not sure. Right now he's on the other end of the city and there doesn't seem to be anyone enquiring about him or thinking about him." I answered as I came back to myself.

"What do we do now?"

"Head for the main library at the University."

As we began to make our way, Bella started to ask me about the university. "It's not like most American Universities in that it has thirty eight colleges that are a part of its structure. The whole area is quiet impressive, and one day when we aren't being tormented by werewolves and other vampires I would very much like to bring you here to have a more thorough look."

"I don't think I can imagine what it's like," Bella replied as we began to pick up the pace running through alleys and streets that weren't very busy.

"The pictures online and in books simply don't do it justice. The craftsmanship of the buildings is quiet unique, and truly beautiful to look at."

My wife glanced at me smiling. "I'm already excited to see it for myself. So if there are that many Colleges, how many libraries or is it just one?"

"The main library is The Bodleian Library, and there are several different buildings that have been added over the years. We will be going to the old library to start with," I explained.

We stopped talking and slowed down when we arrived at a busier street. Several people were on the sidewalks, and only a few stared at us. They were all too busy thinking about their evenings to pay Bella and I much attention, though I was careful to listen to what was on their minds.

"What are they thinking?" Bella whispered in a voice so soft only I could hear her.

"Most of them are thinking about how they want to spend their evening, and only a few are wondering if you and I are famous."

Bella giggled softly, "Famous?"

For a moment I listened to one woman walking across the street from us. She was a little older than Bella and I but not by much. "See that woman across the street?" I asked as we continued walking.

When my wife nodded I continued. "She believes we might be royalty, that or we both paid a great deal for plastic surgery which in her mind only someone famous could afford," I told her as we both chuckled.

Once we got away from the busier streets, we were able to move along at a quicker pace, making it to the outskirts of where the Colleges and buildings affiliated with Oxford began to become more prominent.

"Edward, how are we getting in to the library?"

"Very carefully," I said and my wife growled at me only slightly.

We waited in one of the many parks until it was late enough that only a few people were out walking around. Even so there was still need to be extremely careful. Bella followed me close behind as we approached the old library. Her excitement about finally getting to go in was nearly tangible, and I couldn't help but glance back at her and smile while perfectly aware of everything going on around us.

When we arrived at the old library's main entrance, my wife stopped next to me as we stood off to the side and out of site of a few people still out after a party. "It's so beautiful," she breathed.

It truly was. "What amazes me is how long this university has stood. Carlisle believes that it has been around since the nine hundreds, though historically they can only trace it back to the ten hundreds."

Once we were sure there was no one else coming our way in the foreseeable future, and after checking on Daniel who was asleep, I led my wife away from the main courtyard, around the building on the left side. There were some basement windows and it took little effort to get one open enough for us to go inside.

"You've done this before, haven't you?"

I nodded as we got inside. "They have a few night guards that patrol, can you here them?"

My wife stood as still as a statue before nodding her head. I led her up to the main level and through the halls and passageways until we arrived at The Duke Humfrey reading room. It was a little trickier getting into that room because it required me to pick the lock.

"This feels like one of the Bond movies," Bella whispered once I finally got it undone. Carefully we slipped into the large room.

"I'm in heaven," Bella said as she guided away from me. From that point on I knew I would have to keep extra alert aware that my wife would be too interested in viewing all of the books. For me our visit was more specific. I went to the section of the room that had the works of Medieval manuscripts and writings. Carefully I began to read what was available while focusing on everything else around me, including my wife who was in the special and rare books collection.

A few hours passed and only once did we have to hide when a guard came in. He locked the door back confused about how it had been opened once he was sure no one was in the large room.

"I wish I could take them all home," Bella said once we had finished our research. "Did you find anything?"

"Only one reference to Peter. One piece of writing I found in another section said that he was never really dead."

"Can there be truth to that?"

"Not that I am aware of. Even in their wolf form, as you witnessed, they can easily be killed." My wife shuttered a little and I took her hand in my own. "We are going to find out the truth. I think our next stop needs to be Germany in the town where Peter lived and died."

"How will that help us find Joham?" My wife asked.

"Joham may have gone there if he did any research here, in hopes that he might find the man still alive. It's a long shot but I think that would be our best place to start."

We were walking slower back toward the outskirts of town.

"Do you think Daniel might know, if you brought it up?"

That was one thing I had not considered. He had said his master would be angry, and I'd assumed after he began thinking about Joham, that his master was our vampire enemy. "Maybe he has two masters," I stated not liking that particular thought.

When we stopped to wait out the rest of the early morning hours it was close to where Daniel was lodging. Bella and I stayed a few blocks away in another alley sitting on the stone roadway. Once Daniel was on the move we tried following him. We got as far as one of the train stations before knowing that for now we would have to let him go. "Are you ready to head home?"

My wife nodded. "Do you think we should go back. I'm just worried that if we go back and leave again, that it might be harder on Renesmee."

As she said that, I realized that we hadn't really checked in with anyone. "We'll call them and see how things are going."

Once we were well out of the city and back in the nearest forest, Bella took out her cell and called home. Esme answered and was relieved to hear from us.

"The children are doing better. Renesmee was pretty upset when you left and it took a while to settle her down. What did you find out?"

While my wife told Esme about the werewolf and our visit to the library, I stood close by listening to the sounds, keeping alert. Emmett getting on the phone caught my attention right before Bella handed it to me. "Hey brother," I answered.

"Rosalie and I talked about it and she agrees that maybe I should come with you this time."

"That only leaves her and Esme to protect the children," I pointed out. My mother and sister were perfectly capable of keeping our children safe, but if a whole pack of werewolves showed up along with some vampires I wasn't so sure. "Emmett it might be better for you to stay with them. If more werewolves show up like what happened in Hanover, they will be distracted fighting, and someone could easily take the kids."

My brother growled, and sighed. "I didn't think about it that way. I just feel useless sitting here while everyone else is trying to find answers. Where are you heading next?"

I told him about the legend of Peter Stubbe and the city in Germany where the man came from. "We think that going there might uncover some answers, or at least that's what we hope. Just at the moment I heard one of the kids crying and knew it was my daughter.

"She misses you," Emmett said.

"We miss her. Once we investigate that area we'll head back home. Hopefully we will be there in a few days." Emmett agreed to call us if things with Renesmee got worse and after hanging up Bella tugged on my hand until we were hugging one another for some much needed comfort.

"I hope it's just a few days."

"So do I," I replied as I shut my eyes praying we would find something to lead us on the way to Joham.

AN: I'm sorry for such a long pause in between chapters. I've been job hunting and busy trying to take care of all that. It's time for the action to pick up so I hope you enjoyed the little bit in this chapter. I wish I could write out what Edward is saying in German but it's been a long time since I studied that and I know for a fact I'd mess up. At any rate I hope you enjoyed the chapter more to come hopefully sooner than the last. Thank you all for stopping by to read and reviews are most welcome.I also wanted to add that I'm going to start posting my stories on my livejournal account. It is a freinds only page so you'll have to friend me to see what's up there. The link is on my profile page just lick on homepage and you should be able to get there. Thanks again.

~Ella~