Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
18. THE HUNT
They emerged one by one from the forest edge, ranging a dozen meters apart. The first male into the clearing fell back immediately, allowing the other male to take the front, orienting himself around the tall, dark-haired man in a manner that clearly displayed who led the pack. I refrained from scoffing at the action, refusing to draw attention to myself so early. The third was a woman; from this distance, all I could make out was a startling shade of red. And the fourth? The fourth was even smaller than me, less shapely, but still far more beautiful, holding a fae like beauty with her small stature and cold face, close cropped hair spiked up every which way.
They closed ranks before they continued cautiously towards the Cullens, exhibiting the natural respect of a group of predators as it encounters a larger, unfamiliar group of its own kind.
As I approached, I could see how different they were from the Cullens. Their walk was distinctly feline, a predatorial gait that seemed constantly on the edge of shifting into a crouch. They dressed in the average gear of hikers; jeans and casual button down shirts in heavy, weatherproofed fabrics. The clothes were frayed, though, with wear, and they were barefoot.
I wondered morbidly if they took the clothes off their victims.
Both men had cropped hair, along with the smaller woman, but the taller woman's brilliant orange hair was filled with leaves and debris from the woods.
Their sharp eyes carefully took in the more polished, urbane stance of Carlisle, who, flanked by Emmett and Rosalie, stepped guardedly forward to meet them. Without any seeming communication between them, they each straightened into a more casual, erect bearing.
The man in front was easily the most striking, his skin olive-toned beneath the typical pallor, his hair a glossy black. He had a medium build, hard-muscle, but nothing next to Emmett's brawn. He smiled easily, exposing a flash of gleaming white teeth.
The taller woman was wilder, her eyes shifting restlessly between the men facing her, and the loose grouping around me, her chaotic hair quivering in the slight breeze. In comparison, the smaller female seemed more a lifeless stone statue than I had ever witnessed in a vampire with her inhuman stillness and blank expression, yet her icy-wrong, wrong, wrong- deep burgundy eyes stayed on my person.
The second male hovered unobtrusively behind them, slighter than the 'leader', his light brown hair and regular features easy to overlook, to forget...for a vampire. His eyes, though completely still, revealed more of his true nature with their vigilance.
The olive skinned man, still smiling, stepped toward Carlisle.
"We thought we heard a game," he said in a relaxed voice with the slightest of French accents. "I'm Laurent, these are Victoria, Alice, and James." He gestured to the vampires beside him.
Alice, I thought hollowly. Alice, Alice, Alice, Alice. The existence I believed didn't exist. Foolish. Optimistic. Naïve. Wrong. Just like I was wrong, am wrong. Alice was supposed to be me, I was never meant to be Alice. I took her rightful place, but Alice was wrong, too-wrongwrongwrong-not hyper or happy or addicted to fashion, just blank.
"I'm Carlisle. This is my family, Emmett and Rosalie and Esme, Jasper and Madeleine." He pointed us out, deliberately not calling attention to individuals.
"Do you have room for a few more players?" Laurent asked sociably.
Obviously, but it was possible that a coven wouldn't like spending any amount of time with an unknown group so nothing could be assumed. How many damn vampires played sports around the world, though, for the sound of a game being played between them to be recognizable? Aren't most of them nomads to begin with?
Carlisle matched Laurent's friendly tone. "Actually, we were just finishing up. But we'd certainly be interested another time. Are you planning to stay in the area for long?"
"We're headed north, in fact, but we were curious to see who was in the neighborhood. We haven't run into any company in a long time."
"No, this region is usually empty except for us and the occasional visitor, like yourselves."
The tense atmosphere slowly subsided with the casual conversation, Jasper no doubt helping it along with his gift, as tense as he remained behind me.
"What's your hunting range?" Laurent casually inquired and it's not like I was shocked by it as that would be a fair question to ask fellow vampires.
Carlisle ignored the assumption behind the inquiry. "The Olympic Range here, up and down the Coast Ranges on occasion. We keep permanent residence nearby. There's another permanent settlement like ours up near Denali."
Laurent rocked back on his heels slightly.
"Permanent? How do you manage that?" There was honest curiosity in his voice and I didn't entirely blame him. If I had been turned into a vampire with no prior knowledge of them, I would hardly find much interest or value in keeping access to mundane things like bank accounts or property, especially when I learned I was a bloodsucking immortal with very telling signs of what I turned into.
"Why don't you come back to our home with us and we can talk comfortably?" Carlisle invited. "It's a rather long story."
James and Victoria exchanged a surprised look at the mention of the word 'home', Alice not reacting at all, but Laurent controlled his expression better.
"That sounds very interesting, and welcome." His smile was genial. "We've been on the hunt all the way down from Ontario, and we haven't had the chance to clean up in a while." His eyes moved appreciatively over Carlisle's refined appearance.
"Please don't take offense, but we'd appreciate if you'd refrain from hunting in this immediate area. We have to stay inconspicuous, you understand," Carlisle explained.
"Of course." Laurent nodded. "We certainly won't encroach on your territory. We just ate outside of Seattle, anyway," he laughed.
"We'll show you the way if you'd like to run with us - Emmett and Rosalie, you can go with Jasper and Madeleine to get the Jeep," he casually added.
I gasped again, then, my hands coming up to cradle my throbbing temples as I saw what would happen in mere seconds, varying from simply a tense departure after my exposure to an all out fight ending with me fatally wounded...if I was lucky.
Three things happened simultaneously as soon as Carlisle finished speaking. A light breeze flitted by, no doubt carrying my human scent to them despite my hood being up, Jasper turned still as stone, and James whipped his head around, scrutinizing me, his nostrils flaring.
A swift rigidity fell on all of them as James lurched one step forward into a crouch. ~Jasper lunged towards the attacking vampire, the resulting booming sound far less playful than those made during the game~ Jasper swiftly blocked my present sight of them, baring his teeth, crouching in defense, a feral snarling ripping from his throat. I put aside the shooting thrill the absolutely menacing sound sent down my spine, berating myself for being distracted by my attraction at such a horrible time.
"What's this?" Laurent exclaimed in open surprise. Neither James nor Jasper relaxed their aggressive poses, in fact, the only reason Jasper hadn't pounced yet was my hand gripping the back of his shirt. ~James used the opportunity to tear at my~ I hastily released my weak grip and took a step back just before James fainted slightly to the side, only for Jasper not to do anything more than shift a bit, crouch a bit lower, and let out a deeper, longer warning snarl.
"She is ours." Carlisle's firm rebuff was directed toward James...and far more possessive a claim than I recall them giving to Bella, though judging from Jasper's hiss, it hadn't discouraged James any. It could also be taken the wrong way.
Laurent seemed to find my scent less appealing than James, but awareness now dawned on his face.
"You brought a snack?" he asked, his expression incredulous as he took an involuntary step forward.
I simply placed a placating palm between Jasper's shoulder blades when Jasper let out a sharp growl in response, his lip curling above perfect white teeth. Laurent stepped back again. Smart cookie.
"Whoa, buddy," I cut into the conversation, shocking them all at my casual air in the tense atmosphere. "You ever heard of any 'snack' as relaxed as me in a clearing full of vampires? I am no one's snack," I finished with mild amusement.
"As I said," Carlisle continued slowly though his tone went hard, recovering from the mild shock of me speaking for myself. "She is ours."
"But she's human," Laurent protested. The words were not at all aggressive, merely astounded.
"Correction," I amended lightly, "I'm a seer," I sniffed, acting as if that made me superior to other humans. Some would certainly think so, I just thought it was a convenient, if headache inducing, natural advantage.
"Are you now?" James asked, a hint of amusement and disbelief in his voice as he slowly straightened out of his crouch, but his eyes never left me, his nostrils still wide. ~James leapt as soon as I had removed my hand from Jasper's back to indicate he could straighten and let his guard down a little~ I kept my hand firmly on Jasper's back, feeling his muscles ripple beneath my fingers when they curled up a little, my only outward reaction to the growing anxiety and fear from all the violent visions that kept passing through my mind.
"Why so surprised?" I smirked. "You have one of your own in your possession, don't you?" Glancing towards her direction, I shuddered when I saw she had yet to stop staring at me with those cold, flat eyes. "I've already lost count of the number of times you've managed to fatally wound me before they could kill you," I tossed in with a laugh that I managed to make sound genuine. Of course, not only Jasper, but Rosalie and Emmett had snarled angrily at the easy admission.
While James seemed pleased at the flattery and admission of his prowess, it hadn't been enough to stop his ambitions to hunt me, even knowing that he already 'had one', meaning Alice, wasn't enough to make him lose interest. It was enough that I would provide a challenge with a powerful coven willing to protect me. Damn.
When Laurent spoke, his tone was soothing - trying to diffuse the hostility in the air. "It appears we have a lot to learn about each other."
"Indeed." Carlisle's voice was still cool.
"But we'd like to accept your invitation." His eyes flicked towards me and back to Carlisle. "And, of course, we will not harm the - Madeleine. We won't hunt in your range, as I said."
I snorted openly in disbelief at that as James glanced with the same emotion as well as aggravation at Laurent and exchanged another brief look with Victoria, whose eyes still flickered edging from face to face, then Alice, who had yet to look away from me.
Carlisle measured Laurent's open expression for a moment...and then surprised me by sending an inquiring look in my direction. Stunned as I was at the silent question and the trust the small gesture meant he had in me, I hid my expression and simply gave him a tight nod.
"We'll show you the way. Emmett, Rosalie, Esme?" He called. They gathered together, blocking me from view as they converged. Rosalie was instantly at my side, and Emmett fell back slowly, his eyes locked on James as he backed toward us.
"Now?" Jasper asked sharply, not taking his eyes away from the same target.
"Now," I agreed softly, moving my hand to rest lightly on his upper arm. Jasper didn't waste time in picking me up at the silent permission, Rosalie and Emmett flanking us.
As soon as we were in the trees, Jasper shifted me on his back without breaking stride. I couldn't help sighing into his back as my grip around his neck tightened, unable to enjoy the run back nearly as much as the run there. The tension and anger was almost tangible in the air the way it seemed to roil off of Jasper.
We reached the jeep in an impossibly short amount of time, Jasper barely slowing down as he placed me in the front seat and strapped me in, in nearly the same moment, Emmett sliding in the back as soon as Jasper made his way to the driver's side.
Rosalie was already in the back seat as Jasper started the engine, the jeep roaring to life before he swerved the beast backward, spinning it around to face the winding road.
"What's the damage, Maddy?" Jasper barked out in a commanding tone, expression looking as if it was carved out of stone.
"James is a tracker," I stated without preamble, my response garnering a mightily frustrated snarl from Jasper and an irritated hiss from Rosalie, Emmett merely stiffening. "It's his passion, his obsession, tracking, hunting...and he's set his sights on a new challenge. He begins his hunt tonight."
"Your father will be in danger," Jasper concluded grimly.
"And apparently my sister," I added with a troubled grimace. "I don't know how she convinced Edward to actually take her home." Rosalie scoffed at that.
"I wonder, too. I'd have thought he'd be half way around the world with her by now with how overprotective he is of her. At least Jasper has reason to be," she sneered.
"We have to take her back." Of course it was Emmett who spoke what the other two didn't want to say, didn't want to be an option. Jasper only snarled in frustration.
"A tracker like James won't back down. You'll have to kill him," I informed quietly into the tense silence that followed.
"That's perfect for me," Jasper growled, lips upturned in a vicious grin.
"If you kill James, you'll have to kill Victoria as well. She...she'll do anything to avenge him," I added in warning, feeling no remorse for condemning the red headed vampire to her death early.
"There are enough of us," Emmett boasted confidently.
"You could always just turn her and be done with all the danger to her," Rosalie input casually, apparently okay with me turning into a vampire now that she knew I had nothing really important to lose from it. I doubt she thought losing my remaining family and human life was nearly as bad if not worse than the horror of never being able to have children.
"No," Jasper spat in a low, angry hiss, reading my emotions correctly. We had touched upon the topic of my future turning and while he was not as overly reluctant to 'damn my soul' like Edturd was, he was of a similar mind in regards to having me live out the rest of my adolescent life as a human for both mine and my family's sake. After graduation, though, all bets were off. It wasn't uncommon for college students to lose most contact with friends and family when they move to places states or continents away.
"So what's the plan then, Major?" Emmett asked with a sharp grin, eager for action.
"We take her back, she convinces her father she has to leave for an indefinite amount of time, and we run. If we wait until the tracker is watching he'll follow us and leave Charlie and Bella be."
"Dad also won't go ballistic over me being kidnapped by your family and call the human authorites on you." It didn't surprise me in the least that Jasper essentially came up with the same plan Bella did, if not with less detail and drama.
"Sounds like a plan! So what's the excuse to Chief Swan gonna be?" Emmett questioned.
"Maddy?" Jasper redirected the question to me and I found myself admiring how Jasper delegated tasks to those he felt fit them most appropriately.
"Unlike Bella, I have a bunch of 'friends' in Phoenix. I just tell him one of my closer friends contacted me about being in the hospital for something really bad or something and that I decided to leave immediately. Bella didn't approve and got pissed at my hasty decision, blah, blah, blah..." I trailed off. Jasper nodded in approval.
"You'll have fifteen minutes to pull this off and pack as much as you can," Jasper stated after a contemplative silence.
"We'll make it there before the tracker," I assured, getting a curt nod from Jasper. "Also, for the record? I am not driving this monstrosity and I doubt Emmett can squeeze into my baby, let alone the rest of you."
"I'm not leavin' you," Jasper growled.
"The chief'll get suspicious if you're not in town tomorrow," Emmett pointed out. "He'll think you eloped with Maddy or something."
"Not a problem," Jasper replied immediately. "I'll simply tell him I'm going with Maddy to see her friend. He already suspects that I'm far more serious about our relationship than other adolescents would be."
"And the tracker?" Rosalie cut in. "Don't think he didn't notice how you acted. He knows you'll be with her no matter what."
"Whether I'm with her or not, the risk she'll be in will be the same. I prefer if I'm the one protecting her since that's the case," Jasper justified his intentions. Emmett only chuckled.
"Who are you kidding? Maddy'll be ten times safer than with us if you're protecting her."
"You'll be makin' sure the tracker's completely off her trail," Jasper informed the two in the back seat.
"And you two will be where?" Rosalie asked with a raised brow.
"Phoenix, of course," I chirped.
"Uh, won't he hear where you're going?" Emmett questioned, scratching his head.
"That's the point," Jasper sighed. "He'll know his presence isn't hidden from us, that we've made plans to protect her. He won't believe Maddy is actually going where she says she is."
"You two are diabolical," Emmett chuckled.
"And if that doesn't work?" Rosalie asked, playing devil's advocate.
"There are several million people in Phoenix," I informed matter-of-factly.
"It's not that hard to find a phone book," Emmett pointed out.
"That's why I'm not going home, doofus," I retorted tartly, making the buff vampire snicker.
"We'll jump between hotels, depending on how long this will take," Jasper cut in.
"I like it," Emmett grinned easily, settling back into his seat. "With you two out of the way, getting him alone'll be cakewalk!"
"I'm assuming we're taking the jeep back to fill Carlisle in?" Rosalie more stated than asked.
"There's no one else I would trust more with the task," Jasper replied with a surprising amount of honesty and sincerity. This seemed to appease the statuesque vampire as she too settled back into her seat, returning to her vigilance, looking out the windows to the darkness along with Emmett.
AN: There are some apologies I have to make. First, I apologize that this tookind so long to post despite it being done for a while, but I had originally wanted to post this with the next chapter since it's probably disappointingly short, that's the second thing is apologize for, but that's not happening soon either, the third thing, so I'm posting it now and hopefully answering some reviews will make up for a little bit.
I see you see: No, Maddy won't be turned this book, but I will say she'll be turned sooner than Bella...
shadowjumper7: Yes, unfortunately Edward saw that Maddy has a past life in her panic, but he only saw general details, nothing too incriminating that would mess with future events in later books, though, so don't worry about that. There will be some drama regarding what he did see in the next chapter.
whitedwarf: 1) Bella- First, I just want to say how happy in depth reviews make me feel so thank you. Now for your questions, It's both yes and no in regards to Bella's jealousy towards Maddy's quirks. Bella herself doesn't realize she's jealous and callous towards her sister, as most people are fairly unaware of their largest flaws. She's embarrassed of the general sneering comments and criticism Maddy sometimes receives from her peers but also jealous of the close friends she makes and 'popularity' that comes with those friends. There's also the fact that thanks to Maddy always acting so carefree (self assured), Bella feels justified in her belief that she's the more 'mature' and therefore older twin just because she acts more 'responsible', but rather than feel protective of her supposedly younger sibling, thanks to that envy and shame she feels towards her, she's dismissive and derisive of Maddy instead. Meanwhile, Maddy has been protecting Bella from the beginning with her visions, understanding that having a lifetime's worth of previous memories made her younger twin her responsibility, without expecting anything in return or even acknowledgement.
2) There are a multitude of reasons for Edward's behavior towards Maddy, and yes his jealousy of her and Jasper's easy intimacy is among them. I would imagine that some of the reasons he dislikes her now can be shared with any conflict Edward and Alice may have had when they came together in canon. I find it highly unlikely that someone like Edward who, despite his dislike of being unable to control his gift, who was used to knowing everything to the point where somewhere down the line he started to subconsciously feel entitled to it (at least that's how it seems to me) would be all buddy buddy with Alice from the get go... And then Alice comes in with a far more cheerful know-it-all disposition acting mighty familiar with everyone and able to withhold important information from the broody mind reader. Forgive me if I find it a bit difficult to believe the two immediately got along well. Similarly, Maddy has been introduced to him much as Alice might have in canon, but they have not had years to overcome their differences, commiserate over their unique gifts and feel kinship, nor has Maddy had years to build trust and rapport with Edward over the trustworthiness of her judgement regarding her own visions, a trust which became rocky as soon as Bella came into the picture, in which Edward began to completely disregard Alice's visions, blinded by his growing feelings towards Bella despite decades of trusting Alice before the human came into the picture. Why then, would Edward not be more antagonistic towards Maddy, who seemed far too casual and uncaring of her twin sister being romantically interested in a vampire she knows wants to suck her sister dry and involved herself with the other single vampire that is supposedly the 'weak link' of the family? He also, again being blinded by his growing infatuation to Bella, more often than not intentionally ignores or dismisses Maddy's thoughts of Bella's negative characteristics and behavior as Maddy being overly sensitive or dramatic, or seeing nothing wrong with Bella's criticisms because he agrees with Bella (two peas in a pod, really). I suppose you could liken it to the 'honeymoon phase' of a relationship where the couple can see no flaws in their significant other. This case is exasperated because of Edward's almost desperate need to put Bella on a pedestal, to make her seem perfect in his eyes (again this is how it seemed to me in the book). Bella is also guilty of this (refer back to 'peas and pod' phrase).
P.s & p.p.s- The first will be answered on its own much later in the story and the second answered in the next chapter so...patience, I guess? Goodness, though, sorry if my answer is too long but your questions seemed to deserve a thorough reply.
4everfictional: No, I'm sorry. Much as I'd like to act on personal feelings I cannot. Funny, though, my editor requested the same thing...
Guest: Regarding Maddy's vague references towards the reactions she'd seen from Renée and Bella- Renée was torn between being supportive and worried as she's more the type to yearn for the supernatural but not believe it when she sees it so while she would like to believe her daughter was truly gifted and special, Renée would think her daughter's just special in a different way. Bella, meanwhile would give a more...extreme response. At first, Bella would be dismissive, irritated that Maddy is 'lying' about something so ridiculous, brushing off any attempts of proving her gift real as coincidence or making up some other excuse, thinking she just wants more attention or to make others believe she's special, but when Bella realizes that Maddy truly 'believes' she can 'see the future', out of 'concern' for her sister, she would seek out 'professional help' for Maddy which, inevitably, would lead to Maddy responding angrily and eventually violently when stubborn, bull-headed, Bella refuses to stop insisting on 'getting her help' which in turn would have Bella calling the looney farm without any input from either Maddy or Renée. So yeah, Maddy had reason to keep her gift secret as proven in the previous chapter since even with the revelation of vegan vampires existing and her own vampire mind reading boyfriend being the one to spill the secret, Bella still didn't think it was true.
So, that's it. I will not longer make any promises about future updates because I feel bad when I don't meet them (obviously not enough to get it done-sorry about that), but you'll be glad to know that I have started the next chapter and am more or less halfway done...or at least one third done. Okay, well, until next time. As always, reads and reviews are very much appreciated! ,(=o=)/
