Chapter Thirty

Bella

As I walked forward Jasper dropped back, he knew how important to me this was, Sam had killed Jake and his followers, his pack, had murdered Charlie in cold blood.

"Sam, I'm going to kill you for what you did to Jake and my dad."

His head whipped round and I saw huge teeth glistening in the reflected light from the bonfires. He looked back at Jasper who had stopped moving and stood arms folded as if watching a school yard tussle, but I knew he would act if Sam started getting the better of me, after all I was a novice at this fighting. I had decided to let my instincts take over and my body seemed perfectly capable of moving independently of my mind, knowing what to do and where to position my feet. As we circled I saw the others coming over one by one to watch, when Peter and Emmett turned up I knew the wolves were down and that Old Quil had joined Harry and Billy.

Jasper

Bella was making all the right moves although she was still over thinking sometimes instead of just reacting. Sam was studying her, looking for a weakness just as I would have done in his place but there wasn't going to be an easy way in for him. She feinted then jumped, landing behind him and taking a handful of his pelt with her. He hissed and moved blindingly fast to avoid another attack, churning up the earth with his huge paws as he turned. She crouched and then I saw her eyes glaze over and tensed. Sam attacked and Bella didn't move but he missed and turning fast jumped again and again he missed. Then she attacked as before but this time came away with a better trophy, his left ear. She smiled at him and threw it onto the closest bonfire before crouching again. Every time he attacked he somehow missed her and became more and more frustrated as she took more trophies, the other ear, and a handful of fur and skin from his head. The smell of wolf blood was getting more pungent and my mouth began to fill with venom but Bella seemed unconcerned, unaware even, of the scent.

Bella

I knew I was stopping him from actually touching me although how I did it was a mystery, as if something inside me repelled him, his touch. I played with him a while longer, I wanted him to suffer for Charlies death but eventually I got bored with the game and when he leapt at me next I jumped to meet him and grasped him round the middle with my arms which only just met. Staring into his face, his jaws snapping only a hairs breadth from my own held back by whatever strange power had kept me safe up to now, I squeezed. I felt the breath forced out of his body and then his ribs give as I tightened my grip further. As his eyes started to glaze over, his internal organs crushed, I smiled,

"An eye for an eye Sam, and this is for Charlie"

I squeezed hard, and something burst inside, blood spraying from his mouth to cover my face and he stopped moving, his heart no longer beating then I dropped him to the ground and stepped back, wiping my face with my sleeve.

I looked around at the village, the bodies all on the bonfire now, cleaned up by the guys while Charlotte tended Rosalie's wounds. We were all alive and on our feet, we'd won. I looked across at Jasper who smiled then looked at the guys.

"Burn it"

They picked up burning brands from the bonfires and set the village alight, every cabin, every shed and garage went up in flames. The Quileutes wouldn't forget the day they killed my father. It would enter the annuls of their legends. The hatred of the cold ones would be more bitter but that I could live with, they would know that we would attack if one of our loved ones was killed or injured, treaty be damned. Waiting until the last cabin was well alight we moved out of the village without a backward glance and in the distance we could hear the sirens of the emergency vehicles. Someone had either spotted the column of smoke from the road or one of those who had hidden from the fight had called them. We took our time walking through the forest back to the house in Forks where we'd left our cars. Each couple holding hands and Garrett with his hands in his pockets whistling merrily.

Emmett and Rose decided to go hunting to help her wounds heal more quickly. Garrett accompanied Peter and Charlotte on an extended hunting trip in Colorado leaving Jasper and I to make our own plans. We stayed the night at a motel close to Sea-Tac having decided to fly to Denver and start looking for a home of our own, preferably a ranch with horses. All on our own with only Em and Rose, Peter and Char and Garrett knowing the address. I needed space to get used to my new powers and to come to terms with what had happened to my dad. While we were busy planning and fighting the wolves I could push his death to the back of my mind but now his betrayal by his closest friends was the thing that ran over and over in my brain and with no sleep to get away from it the thought loomed larger and larger. Jasper helped but I had to come to terms with it by myself or I would never be free.

The hotel phone rang that evening and I looked at Jasper puzzled, who knew we were here except for those we had so recently said goodbye to? He picked it up and a frown appeared on his face.

"I'm not sure she wants to see you."

My sensitive hearing had picked up Carlisle's voice and I held my hand out for the receiver with a smile and a wink.

"Yes Carlisle?"

"Bella, thank you for talking to me. We would very much like to talk to you face to face if that's possible"

"Where are you and how did you find out where we were?"

"I asked Alice to look for you. We're actually in Seattle now, would it be permissible for us to meet you somewhere?"

"Who's us Carlisle?"

"Esme and Edward are with me"

"I already spoke to Edward, I have nothing else to tell him."

"I know but I think he would like to speak to you. He has things to say."

Jasper rolled his eyes and I smiled,

"OK Carlisle you'd better come up to our room but we're leaving first thing in the morning whatever he says."

"Thank you Bella, we'll be there soon."

He wasn't joking! Within ten minutes there came a knock on our door and Jazz opened it to his old family.

"Thank you Jasper"

Carlisle acknowledged him as he walked in, followed by Esme and a very subdued Edward.