A/N: I will not be writing Charlie's funeral as I did Paul's. There will be a few snippets from various POVs next chapter but it's hard to mourn a character who isn't dead. Sorry for any typos, I have determined that I will not be bugging my beta with any more work until she is ready as she has a lot on her plate right now and editing my stories does not need to be added to it. Get well soon!!
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Charlie's POV
Bella, Edward and the twins took off for some alone time and I was able to go to the cliffs for some as well, though Emmett and Jasper were nearby, just in case.
The cliffs.
Billy, Harry and I had grown up in the area and this was our favorite haunt as teenagers. Just hanging out, cliff diving, underage drinking... We were trouble makers. Odd to think that I ended up as a police officer, they were related to werewolves and I was a vampire.
A vampire.
A week ago I would have guaranteed that vampires didn't exist, except in horror stories and on late night television. And even then the concept of good vampires was an oxymoron if there ever was one.
But here I stood, immortal. A vampire.
Strange how things work out. I went through my life content. Not happy, not sad. I loved Renee, but not the way I should have. If I had truly loved her as a husband loves a wife, I would have been there for her. When she left, I would have followed, if I had loved her like I should have... But it wasn't meant to be. Then I spent years in love with her memory. In my mind, she had been perfect. She wasn't but it was convenient. Then there was Bella, my daughter.
A took advantage of her in so many ways. Emotionally I wasn't ever there for her. When she was little and came to visit I forced her to do the things I wanted... I never took the time to get to know what she wanted or liked to do. Then she refused to come and we met in California for a few days at a time. I still never took the initiative to do anything with her. We didn't speak much at all. I had done that. I vowed to fix it when she moved up here with me.
But I didn't. I was too comfortable in my solitary life to risk stepping out of it to connect with my daughter. I always put it off for another day, another time. Then she was gone...
So many things were explained, now that I knew about vampires. Bella's disappearance to Phoenix, the reason Edward never ate dinner with us, everything. I came to realize that I was highly unobservant. Bella wasn't.
My rambling thoughts were interrupted by some loud voices.
"It's not a good idea," Jasper said.
"They know what they're doing," the other voice said.
"He hasn't been tested. It isn't safe," Jasper said.
"He is my friend. He won't hurt us," another voice said. A familiar vice. Very familiar.
"Billy," I whispered to myself.
Was I safe to see Billy? I opened my senses and let the scent around flow in. There was an awful wet dog smell and another scent, better than coffee or fresh baked bread. My mouth watered but I felt no desire to hunt it.
"Charlie," Emmett said, appearing at my side. "We..."
"I heard, Emmett. Billy and Harry are here to see me," I said.
"Jasper doesn't think..." he started to say again.
"I can smell them. It isn't bad. No desire to rip out any throats or anything," I said, smiling slightly.
Jasper and Harry came into the clearing next, followed by Jacob who was carrying Billy in his wheelchair.
"You okay, Charlie?" Jacob asked.
"Yup," I said, breathing deeply. "No worries."
"Looking good, Vamp Man," Billy said, smiling up at me.
"Feeling no pain," I answered.
"So you're good? No desire for a juice box?" he said, motioning to his neck.
"Nope," I answered, smiling at him. "Your blood is probably to old and stale for me."
"Hey I'm younger than you. Be kind to your elders!" he responded, happily slipping back into the comfortable friendship that we had developed over the last few decades. Jacob still stood close to his father, watching warily as Emmett and Jasper carried on a silent conversation about my control.
"Boys, Boys!" Harry said. "Settle down and start acting your age!"
Billy and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. We all smiled at each other and settled back to enjoy the view.
"So you like the improvements?" I finally asked.
"I gotta say, it's a little freaky... But at least you lost those love handles you were starting to sport," Billy said.
"Yup," I said with a grin. "I have a six pack now."
"I'm gonna miss sharing a six pack with you," Billy said sadly.
"Me too," I said. "But hey we can still catch a game on the tube, right?"
"Sorta," Billy said sadly. "I mean, it's kinda hard with you being dead and all."
"I guess," I said.
"So how is the vamp thing? You doing okay?" Harry asked.
"Gotta say. The whole "oh look vampires and werewolves really do exist" kinda took me by surprise," I said, glaring at the two of them.
"I tried to tell you," Billy said.
"If you did, I probably would have tried to have you committed," I answered and we all laughed.
"Other than that, it's pretty cool. I can run faster than either of those yahoos," I said pointing to Jasper and Emmett. "And I took the big guy down in a fight."
"No way!" Billy and Harry said, eyeing up Emmett.
"Way!" I said.
We went back and forth, trading barbs and talking sports, when the present came up to rear it's ugly head. Harry excused himself after a bit, needing to get home to help Sue bring some food for my funeral.
My funeral. How weird.
"There's something you don't hear everyday," Billy said.
"Wanna hear what I'm going to say?" Billy asked.
"Not really. I hate that my life can be summarized in just a few paragraphs. I didn't really live my life to it's full potential. I find that sad," I said.
"You led a damned good life, Charlie. You had tons of friends who enjoyed spending time with you, a whole town of people who respected you, an ex-wife who loved you enough to come and be here for this, a daughter who loved you enough to want to keep you for eternity," he said, and I realized it was true. I did have a great life.
"You're right," I said quietly.
"Dad," Jacob said, interrupting us. "I need to phase and check in with the guys. I'll be back in fifteen. Then we'll need to get going so that we can get you to his funeral on time."
"What's with the morose look on his face?" I asked.
"Morose. You going all high and mighty now that you're a vamp?" he asked, deflecting the question.
"Okay. What's up?" I asked.
"What have you heard about the boys imprinting?" he asked with a sigh.
"Bits and pieces. Imprinting is finding a soul mate, right?" I asked.
"Basically," he said.
"So what's the problem?" I asked.
Billy looked at Jasper and Emmett who stepped closer. I didn't know if they wanted to hear this or what but I turned back to Billy.
"Jacob imprinted on Arriel," he said.
"Arriel... My granddaughter, Arriel?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said.
"Are you joking? He's seventeen and she's not even a month old!" I said, not angry but completely incredulous.
"It's not what you're thinking. Nothing romantic yet or anything," he said.
"Yet being the operative word. What? He'll wait until she's four? Seriously. You better start explaining this or I'm liable to go after him and rip his miserable head off," I said.
"Imprinting isn't a romantic feeling. It is a need. A need to be whatever your imprint needs you to be. He would be what she needs. As a baby, he'd be her protector. As a child, her playmate. And when she's a woman, then he'd..." he started explaining.
"What if she didn't want that? What if we don't want that for her?" I asked.
"Why wouldn't you? Is my son not good enough? I know he was never good enough for Bella," he said.
"What are you talking about? This had nothing to do with being good enough. Too old, maybe. But it is not a question of good enough. I just can't see anyone wanting her future lined out so much. I mean, Bella and Edward are just learning how to be her parents. I just found out I'm a grandpa and I'm supposed to welcome my inevitable grandson-in-law into the family?" I said.
"I don't see the problem," Billy said.
"Billy, Rebecca just had her first baby right. Katelyn, if I remember correctly," I said.
"Yeah. What's your point?" he asked.
"If I were to tell you that Katelyn's whole future is lined up for her. She will have a grown man, not related to her, living nearby to come and play with her and that she will marry him when she is old enough. How do you feel about that?" I asked.
"That's not fair. Katelyn isn't a part of the supernatural," he said.
"Isn't she? Are you sure female werewolves are a one shot deal?" I asked.
"Okay!" he said, gripping the handles of his wheelchair. "I see your point. Bella and Edward pretty much refused him anyway. That's why he's so down in the dumps."
"Try to help him see it from their point of view. I don't blame them one bit," I said.
"I know. I've just never seen a broken imprint. I don't know what it would do to him," he said. "I'm just biased. Jake is such a good kid."
"He is," I said. "I like the kid, but I'm not about to welcome him to the family anytime soon."
"I think I understand. Hopefully I can get him to understand too," he said.
Jacob appeared a few moments later and I said my goodbyes to Billy, promising to see him soon.
Without even flinching, Jacob lifted Billy, chair and all and made his way through the trees and back to the reserve.
I was left sitting on the cliffs with Emmett and Jasper.
"You and Bella!" Jasper said in a slightly perturbed voice.
"What about us?" I asked.
"Your control! It takes vampires years, if not decades to gain that kind of control over their bloodlust and yet you both act like it's nothing. Wasn't the burn distracting?" he asked.
"It was minimal. Easily overcome by the fact that I didn't want to hurt my friends... Or any other human for that matter," I said.
"I get that now... But it's taken me over fifty years... And even then, Bella gets a paper cut and I nearly took her down," he said.
"I beg your pardon?" I asked.
"Bella's birthday... She got a paper cut and I hadn't hunted in too long. If nobody else had been there...." he said.
"Jazz!" Emmett said. "You know it was intensified by all our feelings. It wasn't just you. Especially Edward! For crying out loud she was his singer!"
"Singer?" I asked. This vampire stuff was confusing.
"Basically, Bella's blood called out to Edward. Her blood had a very sweet aroma to all of our kind, but to Edward... It was like it called to him. He had to fight his bloodlust every second just to be with her," Jasper explained.
"So how did they end up together?" I asked. "Are human/vampire relationships common?"
"Not at all!" Jasper said at the same time as Emmett said, "Hell no!"
"Bella appealed to Edward on more than one front instantly," Jasper explained. "I was there when he first saw her. The visual attraction was instant. And it scared the crap out of him because he'd never been remotely interested in a vampire like that, let alone a human. Carlisle actually thought he was broken. That maybe he was too young to be changed. Then after that, he tried to listen to her thoughts. He got nothing! First time anyone has been able to keep him out. So he simply listened to her words and was taken by her kind and gentle nature. Plus the mystery of how a human managed to keep him out was pretty good too. Then he sat next to her in class. If it hadn't been for his attraction to her, formed from a distance, you would have been investigating the worst case of mass murder in history. The attraction to her scent went through him like a freight train. He had to quit breathing for her to even live through the day," Jasper said.
My eyes widened, thinking about how I had almost lost Bella that first day.
"He took off to Alaska, trying to avoid her. To keep her alive. But the emotional connection he had formed was too intense and he came back. He tried to stay away, but it was inevitable. Then there was the Tyler incident," Jasper said.
I growled, thinking about the Crowley boy who had almost ended Bella's life.
"We were ready to kill Edward that day. He risked exposing us all as he ran all the way across the damned parking lot, grabbed Bella to get her out of the way, then stopped the van with his bare hand. And of course Bella caught on to everything. She knew there was something different about him, all of us, and started trying to figure it out. Edward wanted her to figure it out, but he didn't. He begged her to stay away from him, knowing we weren't safe for her, but circumstances kept pushing them together. Finally he decided that they could be friends and set about protecting her. Did you know she was a danger magnet?" Jasper said.
"Since the day she was born. We fought a losing battle for years trying to keep her from harm," I answered.
"Anyway, I guess Jacob filled her in on the rumors from the reserve about what we are and she pieced it together. A few days later she was off to Port Angeles with Angela and Jessica," he said. "Edward followed at a distance, just trying to be there to protect her. She left her friends and got lost. She was accosted by a group of men and nearly attacked. One of her attackers was Cliff Olson...."
"The serial rapist and murderer?" I asked.
"The very one. Edward stopped him and then went back later that night with Carlisle and took care of him. He wouldn't kill him, he wanted to be good enough for her. He wanted to be worthy of her. So they drugged him and Carlisle dumped him in Portland. Far enough away that she wouldn't see the news about him and allow it to worry her more, but close enough to get him there. He will be in jail for life, so it's all good. So, after he rescued her, they went on a min date and she told him that she knew what he was. He was stunned, assuming that if she knew she would have run away screaming," Jasper explained.
"Bella never does what you'd expect," I said.
"Precisely!" he agreed.
"But then she ran off to Phoenix. How did that come about?" I asked.
"There were some nomads in the area, human drinkers. The night we went to play baseball, they heard us and came to join. James, their leader, was a tracker. He wanted Bella and he wanted her bad! When our family protected her, it got worse and so the family took her to Phoenix to try to get away from him. In the end it didn't work and James called her, playing a tape of Renee's voice to make Bella think he had her. She ran away from us to try to protect Renee, only to find that all he had were some tapes. He nearly killed her but we got there just on time. Unfortunately we were a little late and he bit her, starting her change. Edward managed to suck the venom out and save her," he said.
"Why?" I asked. "It obviously would have been easier if she was a vampire."
"He wanted what was best for her, not for him," Jasper said.
"Things got easy for a while after that. The entire family had never been so happy, except for Rosie, who was jealous that Bella had what she most desired, humanity. Rose isn't used to being jealous of anyone so it was a little unpleasant between them for a bit. Then things got a little tense after her birthday. Edward got more protective while she was around the family. Bella was determined to be changed and Edward was just as determined that she never be cursed. I think he knew he'd have to give in eventually, but he hoped she wouldn't have to repeat high school for eternity," he said.
"Here's the dad in me asking... And I am absolutely certain I am asking the wrong brother... But how did she end up pregnant and completely alone?" I asked.
"You probably don't want to hear this, but you'll likely get more from us then from either of them," Jasper said.
"Believe it or not, Bella was the driving force in the forcing the physical boundaries department," Jasper said.
"She wanted to get her freak on," Emmett said. I so didn't want to hear that!
Jasper whacked him on the back of the head.
"Edward has very turn of the century values and between his physical concern about strength and losing control and his moral standards, everything was sweet and innocent until the weekend we all left," Jasper said.
"She didn't spend the weekend with the girls?" I asked.
"It's not like Eddie didn't spend every night in her room anyway," Emmett said.
I felt my blood pressure rising... And I didn't even have any blood.
"Remember, turn of the century values," Jasper said. "He literally watched her sleep, night after night."
I took a deep breath, and looked to Jasper to continue. It would do me no good to blow a gasket now.
"Sorry, Charlie," he said with a smile. "Anyways, we figured they'd enjoy some time alone and I took Ali to Paris while the rest of them went hunting in Canada. Now I don't know the ins and outs of what happened as I was in France and the rest of the family was in Canada but there was a proposal and some lingerie involved, which resulted in them consummating their relationship."
Why did I want to hear this again???
"Anyways, from what I hear it went fine and they were both rather smug about it. At least until Edward saw the bruises. Carlisle said they were superficial but for Edward, the very thought that he had hurt Bella was too much for him. He ran, in part out of fear of her rejecting him after she saw the bruises, but mostly because he was the one who was supposed to protect her and yet he was the one to hurt her," he said.
I just nodded.
"None of us were around to talk him down, reason with him. He felt he was protecting her. None of us knew a pregnancy was even possible. Vampires can't give birth so birth control was never considered," Jasper said.
"Not like a condom can contain our...venom anyway. Plus those things are fragile when you try to put them on," Emmett said.
"I don't want to know why you know that," I said, causing Jasper to laugh.
"When the family returned and found out what happened, they took off to find Edward to bring him back. By then Bella was pregnant and by the time we got him back here, she was gone and we had no clue where she was," Jasper said.
"But I thought Alice could see things like that," I said, suddenly confused.
"Usually she can. Alice can see humans, because she was one. She can see vampires because she is one, but the twins are neither and so completely invisible to Alice. The wolves are too," he said. "Rosalie was the one who eventually figured out where they were and brought them back to Forks. But by then Jace had changed Bella and our treaty with the wolves stated that we would not bite anyone. Jacob and Sam were furious and when Sam saw the babies he wanted them killed. Jacob just told them to leave Forks and never return. So Rosie and Bella took what they could and then Rose burned down the house. They went to Portland, which is where Alice finally caught a vision of Bella, who was on her first hunt, and they met them there. It was a shocking time to say the least. Before we could get anything ironed out, Bella and the babies were kidnapped by Victoria and her lackeys, who brought them back here. Bella managed to get away from the lackeys due to her powers and the babies' powers. She brought the twins to you and returned to take care of the lackeys. Alice couldn't see the babies or Bella, of course, nor Bella's kidnapper, who we knew to be Victoria, from the scent she left behind. Once Bella had Victoria away from her, we saw Victoria's plans and knew to come here. Once here, we were reunited but Victoria was still on the loose. So we tried to have you protected at LaPush. Paul was not happy with our alliance and didn't like getting Charlie sitting duty, instead of being our hunting for vamps. Jasper and I were in the trees until we reached the border to the reserve then we had to turn around, our treaty prevented us from crossing. I don't know why you stopped or how Victoria ended up with you, but she was using you as bait to get us to fight her. We did, but when she figured in the wolves, she never thought we would fight together. After the fight you were changed, Paul was buried and we waited for you to wake up," Jasper explained.
"Now how does Dora fit into all this?" I asked.
"Caius was one of the vampire world's leaders. She was his wife, not by choice, mind you. There was no emotional connection between the two. Victoria was brought to Dora as a baby to raise. She thought it was an act of kindness on Caius' part. It wasn't. He knew Victoria would have certain gifts and he wanted to train her to be loyal to him. She was, right until the end," he said.
"But why were you guys and Bella involved?" I asked.
"James, the vamp that attacked her in Phoenix was her mate. And Caius hated us because of our chosen diet and lifestyle. Plus they had Maria with them. Someone from my past, she wanted me to work for her again, but when I left that lifestyle years ago, I vowed never to return," he said.
"So much information!" I said, with a frown. "I'm glad I have more room to store it now."
We sat in silence for a while. Emmett and Jasper were gracious enough to let me think. My thoughts were distracted by some voices coming through the trees. It was the Denali clan and Dora.
"So how did you like hunting animals?" Kate asked.
"Not half bad," Dora replied. "Food with no guilt. I like the concept."
"Exactly. I think you'll probably prefer carnivores. They taste much better than the herbivores and the hunt is most exciting," Carmen said.
"I am glad we started easy. I haven't hunted... Ever," she said. "I was always served. I much prefer the ability to help myself."
They came out of the trees then and I found myself staring at Dora. She was exquisite. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a button up shirt. Classic and elegant with a casual flair. God! When did I become a girl?
"Hey, Dora," I said.
"Hey Charlie," she replied, smiling at me.
"Oh brother!" Jasper muttered and shook his head.
Dora came and sat beside me while Jasper and Emmett got up and talked to the Denali clan. I was so lost in the feeling of sitting next to Dora that I couldn't have told you what they said if I tried. Eventually Emmett broke through.
"Charlie!" he shouted, and I turned to look at him. He laughed and said, "We're off to the funeral. Behave for your new babysitters."
I shook my head and rolled my eyes while Jasper slapped him upside the head.
"Good job, Buffoon. Antagonize the newborn," he said.
"There is nothing wild about him. He's as tame as they come," Emmett said.
"Good," Dora said from next to me. "I like him that way."
I looked at her and smiled and she ducked her head in embarrassment. I reached over and squeezed her hand and smiled at her again before we both turned to watch the view, not letting our hands drop.
I swore I heard a few "awww's" from our babysitters, but I wasn't sure. I was lost in the feeling of her tiny hand pressed into mine.
Aro's POV
Trying to arrange travel to Seattle was not as easy as I imagined. I had planned to go, with Marcus and Sulpicia, accompanied only by four members of the guard; Renata, my personal shield, Jane, with her powerful gift nobody could stand up to us, Alec, whose gift was slow and sneaky but could incapacitate a complete army and Demetri, who was a strong fighter, a great tracker and my personal pilot to boot.
Felix had been concerned that the Cullens were too strong and would relish the chance to kill us, taking over ruling our kind. As much as I was certain that this was not the case, the seed of doubt was planted. They had just taken down an army and I knew they had many gifted vampires on their side.
Finally, we settled on a group of twenty. It was a little nerve wracking bringing the entire guard and leaving our city mostly unprotected. But we needed the show of force and pageantry that the large contingent brought.
I was also going to have to insist on Athenodora's return to Volterra. She knew too many secrets and it was not smart to have her out of my control. She would not deny me when I had everyone to back me up, especially little Chelsea with her bonding gift.
Felix was a trained pilot and we took one of the planes from our fleet for the journey. Unlike the Cullens, humans would not survive long flying with us. We had made sure to feed just before leaving Volterra, gorging ourselves so that we would not need to eat on this continent.
We flew into the small community of Port Angeles, which I was informed was the closest we could get to Forks. Demetri assured us that the Cullens were, in fact, still there, as were the Denali clan and Athenodora.
Timing our arrival so that we arrived at dusk was usual for us. We decided against hiring cars and ran towards Forks. I am rarely out of the castle and the chance to stretch my legs was fantastic.
Everyone moved around me, with our most experienced and strongest fighters taking the lead. We would regroup once we reached Forks and arrive in our well trained formation that served to awe and intimidate those around us.