Chapter Sixty Six

Carlisle

I couldn't tell Edward that Josie was gone, that there was no way to fuse her head back on. He assumed because she was part vampire that it would be possible but he forgot she was also part guardian and while they were able to recover from severe wounds decapitation was too drastic an injury for even that. I put Josie's head in place and pulled a cover over to hide the wound, now she looked merely asleep. There was something we were missing I was sure, I knew Changelings varied but Josie had been so easily detected by the Quileutes, almost as if designed that way and I had to ask myself why? Such a Changeling wouldn't have been a very good spy so what if she were created for another reason...the only other reason I could come up with made me even more uncomfortable because if I were right then this wasn't over, not by a long way.

A Changeling undetectable to vampires but easy for the guardians to spot, was she created for a very special purpose? I need to speak to Jasper and Darius but when I rang he told me Jasper was upstairs with Bella, comforting her, so I explained my theory to him.

"If you're right Carlisle then Bella and all of us are in danger. Do you know why?"

"No, not for sure, but I can give you my theory. Caius has wanted the guardians dead for a long time and slowly they've been whittled down. The smaller tribes have been destroyed using the talents of others like Maria so there was never a hint of Volturi hands in it. Now there are only two tribes left that have any real power, the Quileutes and the guardian tribe in Alaska."

"So if there was conflict between the Cullens and the Quileutes then it couldn't be traced back to them and Caius knew if Josie were to attach herself to Edward that eventually he would take her back to Forks and she'd be detected. In order to save her Edward and the rest of you would have to take on the wolf pack or run but if you ran the guardians and the wolves would just track you down. The fact Charlie fell in love with Tanya just made things work even better because once the wolves detected the Changeling they would attack."

"Yes and because Tanya was so close to Josie for a period of time she carried the tell-tale scent. She never stood a chance and Charlie did his dirty work for him. He killed the elders and some of the pack."

"Enough to ensure they were fatally weakened. I'd be surprised if the guard don't make a visit to finish the job."

"Unless they think we will do the job for them, knowing Charlie was Bella's father, and The Major would do anything to even the score. I'll get him to ring you in a while, when Bella's settled. I think we need to be alert for more trouble."

"Yes, you can be sure the guardians will hear about the deaths in the Quileute village very quickly and they wont be happy."

Edward

I explained what had happened to Charlie and heard Bella crying,

"We saw it through a satellite link but thank you for ringing Edward and for standing beside him. I'm very sorry about Josie. I know she meant a lot to you."

"It's OK Darius, I managed to save her head. Carlisle is healing her now."

"Healing her? How? She's half human."

I saw what he was getting at and dropped the phone racing upstairs to my room to find Carlisle sitting beside the couch where Josie lay, a throw over her, and for a moment I thought she was sleeping. He got up and came to me putting an arm around my shoulder.

"I'm very sorry Edward but there was nothing I could do. The venom stopped the bleeding but her heart had stopped and her brain needed oxygen to live. Being a Changeling meant she was beyond all help once her head was removed."

I would have fallen if he hadn't supported me and I cried out in my agony.

"Why her? Why couldn't they just stop at Tanya, admit they made a mistake. She wasn't a threat to the Quileutes."

"No she wasn't, but not for the reason you think. Josie was a sacrificial lamb Edward, sent purely to be discovered and killed."

"What? Why?"

"To start a war with the wolf pack. A war the Volturi hoped would mean the end for them."

"But she loved me, she was my mate Carlisle."

"No Edward, she picked you because you were the ideal candidate. She needed a way to get to Forks and you would take her there if you fell in love with her."

"Did she know?"

"That she was going to die? I think she may have, it was her destiny, she was born to give herself away, designed to be detectable to the guardians just as she was."

I shook my head in denial while at the same time working on a plan to finish the remaining pack members. Even if she was supposed to die she was mine and I wouldn't let them get away with killing her.

Carlisle

I sat Edward down beside Josie's body,

"I'll leave you to say your goodbyes them we must burn her body son. If the police come here to question the family they can't find her. We could never explain things and it would mean exposing our world or more deaths. When you are ready bring her down and we'll do it properly."

He nodded, his eyes closed, and I saw he had taken her hand in his holding it tightly as he spoke silently to her. As I walked downstairs I found Esme holding Alice's hand both having healed now.

"Where's Stuart?"

"He went out to check there are no wolves around once he knew I was OK."

"I think you should get him back Alice. It's too dangerous to have him roaming around alone, he doesn't know the area or the Quileutes."

She nodded and pulled out her phone while Esme took my hand,

"How is Edward?"

"About as you'd expect. He really thought he had saved her and now he has to come to terms with her death and her true reason for being with him."

"Poor Edward, to find out the woman you love has used you for her own ends but surely she must have known she might be killed if she came here."

"She did, it was her job to be discovered and killed and she played her role perfectly, right to the very end."

Edward

I heard the conversation below me but only one thing registered, Stuart was out there looking for the wolves and he was alone. He didn't know them and I wondered if they might find and kill him, not if I could help it. In fact he could help me. I said a final farewell to Josie leaning down to kiss her cold lips before taking off after him through the trees from my bedroom window. I heard Carlisle's cry but I didn't care, I wanted revenge. Even if she hadn't loved me and I thought he was wrong about that, I had loved her and someone would pay for her death. It didn't take me long to find Stuart who was at the boundary line in a tree, watching the village in the far distance. I joined him gazing over at the collection of cabins that made up the Quileute settlement,

"There's been a lot of activity. I think they're setting things up for the burial of their elders. The police came and took statements before removing Charlie's body to the morgue. It sounds like he's going to be the fall guy for all this."

"I don't really care how they cover their backs up to now but they're going to need a few more graves before I'm done."

"You're going to take on the rest of the pack? On your own?"

I looked at him and he shrugged,

"OK just the two of us?"

"Yes. I'll point out the wolf pack to you and then we go in after dark. I want the leader, you can have as many of the others as you want but he's mine."

"Fair enough. Lets get started."