Twilight and the shifters are not mine.
SM and RV own all.
Ethan's Point of View
It had had been over three weeks since we had heard anything from little Bella. All children were special to our kind. Females were even more so. A female was a rarity. One child out of every 10 were female. Sometimes less than that.
But Bella was even more special. She had survived the fire that had kill her family when she was but a baby. Mother and Father had taken her in after that. My whole family had fallen in love when her. She was the opposite of Faythe in every way, but their bond of sisterhood was very strong. Father took the time to train her like he had Faythe trained. After what had happen to Faythe and two other tabbies, I was very glad.
Charlie was about useless. At least he managed to come up with a descent cover story. But that still left a large gaping hole in the whole problem. Where was Bella?
These woods were something else. I made a mental note that after I found Bella and Charlie's ass, that I would to come back for a small vacation. Much of this area was a virgin forest. Something exceptional in the human world.
But where was Bella? The scents gave no clue. When the other tabbies had gone missing, there was still the telltale scents to tell us something.
Charlie was going to be joining me after he finished his shift at the police department. I couldn't help but snort at this. Gave up good paid and comradely with fellows of his own kind, for a mundane backwater Podunk town in the middle of no where. The only thing it had going was the forest.
There was something weird about this place. I keep smelling something strange. Kind of bittersweet, but with a strange tint to it. It was mostly being found when I was following game trails. It had to be an animal of some kind. If it was a plant, it wouldn't fade. It would stay there.
It was better than the smell that was coming off the Indian kid that Charlie introduced me to last night. Billy was nice and all, but his son smelled...dog-like. That couldn't be right. I have met humans that ran dog kennels that didn't smell that bad.
I had started watching the high school. The rainy weather made intelligence gathering easy. The rain wasn't as bad without clothes, as with clothes. Still not enjoyable. The early school morning was gray. All the children were pasty pale. No ample supplies of vitamin D.
Today I just watched. The full moon was just a few days away. I was looking for someone that might be showing signs of stress or sickness. According to Charlie, none of the human children have taken any long amounts of sick leave, yet.
"Edward, stop." That high pitched voice came from a small female. I had seen her and her family a few times. Very tight knit. Very closed mouth.
They were a lone in the school's parking lot. Just her and her brother. I had noticed how protective all of his siblings were of him.
"Don't worry Alice. I said I was driving you here then I was taking a walk."
"That's not it. Don't lie to me." The redheaded male smiled at her. They had stayed behind to talk in the car, while the other three went inside. "I saw you taking a walk, and then I saw nothing. Are you coming back?"
"Yes little sister. I will come back."
"Tonight?"
"I will make no promises." Edward handed her the car keys. He took his rain coat off and put it the backseat. Strange. "I got to go, its too warm in here.." Yep, he was who I was looking for. Now that I was really looking him, I could see how sickly he looked.
Tracking in the rain was not going to be fun, I had to stay far enough he wouldn't notice me.
EDWARD
I was half way into the mountains when I heard someone behind me. I didn't really hear them, more like a sixth-sense. I could feel someone behind me.
"Know you're there, come out." Nothing moved. At first nothing moved. Then Bella stepped out from behind a tree. She wore a nervous smile. I could feel a smile tugging at the corner of my lips.
She was persistent and stubborn. I thought these were some of her best qualities. Well, right there next to her kindness.
She wasn't sure if I was mad at her or not. I held out my hand to her to show I wasn't mad. Being mad at Bella seemed wrong.
The nervous smile changed to a happy grin as she came running to my side. She slipped an arm a round my wist and hugged me. I pulled my good arm around and held her tight against me.
"Edward," she whispered against my chest. "Please, lets go home. You really don't want to do this out in the middle of the woods. I know you need your space, and I understand why."
She had both fist tangled up in my t-shirt. Was she scared that I would run from her. Running from her always brings me back to her. So what was the point?
"It's too painful to be near anyone, Bella." I pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "Except you. You are the first person I have been able to touch. When a telepath touches a person, it takes down any barriers that I have in place. Sometimes bordering on empathy. Painfully."
"Okay, then lets try something else." She eased up on her death grip. Her eyes moved up to mine. Her red eyes were like two vibrant rubies. "The cracking is spreading," she reached up to trace the feather fine lines on my face and neck.
I could feel the fractures spreading across my chest. It was moving the fastest. It hurt the most. Almost burning when touched. She reached down to pull up my shirt and gasped. I could feel flakes of skin dusting off at her efforts. This was to much, I had to make her stop. The effort was almost too much. I could feel my energy sapping with every passing minute.
"Bella stop, please. You win. I'll go home." Her face lit up and she grabbed my good hand and started to steered me home. "You're going to have to lead the way." My brain didn't feel like working that hard. I felt like I needed to lay down.
She looked at me for a moment and then nodded to herself. She held my hand the rest of the way home.
Ethan's POV
Bella had a stray. Was he a boy toy? Or an innocent human that got swiped by accident. The pit of my stomach hurt. Oh my god, what do I tell Father? I didn't want to see Bella put to death. She had broken 2 out 3 rules for our kind. I had half a mind to walk away and let have her peace. But if I didn't come home with something more would come hunting her.
Something wasn't right. The boy's scent wasn't right. It was similar to the scents in the forest. Sharp, sweet, almost floral. It wasn't a natural scent. Now I had a fresh scent to sample. Something about the way he smelled made me want to run away, far away and fast. Was he human? Did he brainwash her?
Then I stopped cold. Bella's scent had changed too. She was still a werecat. But she had the same sharp scent as the male. What was going on?
I needed to go back to Charlie's. There was something he wasn't telling me.
I was sitting in the recliner next to the Charlie's old beat up couch. I wasn't sure what color it use to be. The recliner was a dusty brunt orange. There was lot of dust in his house. Definitely a tomcat's pad.
I was still trying to sort this mess out in my head about Bella. I had found her and something else. There was a lot stuff not adding up. I wanted to call or text or something. I wanted to let the family know I found her. But that would sign here death warrant.
I heard the cop cruiser pulling in the driveway. How do I talk to him without sounding like I needed a straight-jacket.
Walking through the door, Charlie undid his gun belt. Hung it on one of the pegs by the front door. Then he put his hat and coat next to it.
I waited for him to make a cup of black coffee and then he walked into the living room with me. He took a few sips. He didn't sit down. He was study me. His dark brown almost black eyes made him look intimidating. He was lean but well muscled. I wonder how many teenage boys he had enjoy scaring.
Charlie and Bella were the last of the Swan Pride. With the death of her parents, most of the Pride had disbanded. But Charlie had always been loyal to Bella. I don't think Charlie had given any though to his loyalties. It was all psychological. Bella was the rightful heir of his Pride's Alpha.
When Bella contacted the old tom, I don't think any of us understood why. I was starting to. The Swan Pride's territory ranged from northern California to the edge of Canada. Bella was from this area. She had been living Texas since she was six.
"You found her." It wasn't a question. I felt my shoulder slump. I was so upset with what I had found.
"Sit down Charlie." He raised an thick dark eyebrow at me. He sat down and set his coffee cup on the coffee-table.
"Yes, but I have more questions."
"Go on." Charlie didn't look nervous but I could tell he was torn about something. "Tell me what you have discovered. I will tell you what I can. I hope it will help." I took a minute to think about what he was saying. There was a lot of double talk in that statement.
"I was at the school today," Charlie perked up and picked his coffee cup back up. "One of the kids dropped his family off, talked to his sister of a few minutes, handed her the keys, and took off his raincoat. Then he went into the woods."
"I think that's an issue of the school-board and the young man's father." Charlie interrupted me. All I could do was glare at him.
"I followed him," I got up. I didn't want to pace, the coffee on the table smelled good. I needed to eat. I wanted to go back out there. "I trailed him for a while. He was really fast. He was over a mile away within three minutes. He didn't run. He just moved really fast. I followed him for over an hour. He was heading for the mountains. He may have been moving fast but you could tell he wasn't feeling good. Then he met up with Bella."
"Go on," his eyes were boring into me. "Start there." I nodded and then did so.
"He turned and looked around, I heard him say 'Know you're there, come out." I thought he was talking to me. I wasn't going to come out of hiding. Then Bella stepped into view. She was hiding behind a tree. I didn't even notice her. I saw her smile at him. He smiled back at her.
"She grinned and then she hugged him. She called him Edward and then told him that they were going home. She said, 'You really don't want to do this out in the middle of the woods. I know you need your space, and I understand why.'
"He told her it's too painful to be around anyone. He pushed her hair out of her face. Then he said something strange. He told her that she was the first person he could touch. That he was a telepath. And that it hurts to touch people. That it was painful.
"I couldn't see everything she was doing. She tried something else. I could see her touching him. She said something about the cracking was spreading. I saw her touch him on the face. He looked like he was in pain then he asked her to stop and agreed to go home with her. Charlie, the young man looked sick. I think he's a stray."
I realized that Charlie was staring at his coffee cup. I brought the coffee pot over and filled up his cup again and topped off mine.
"Edward?" The older tom was staring at the TV. It wasn't on. But that was what he was staring at. "You said the kid's name was Edward? A few weeks ago a boy at school saved her life. That was his name. The next day was sunny. She played hooky and I never saw her again." A lovers' tryst?
"What did he look like?" He never told me about Bella's life being in danger. What else did he not tell me?
"His hair short, choppy, reddish-brown. He is kinda pale." I had seen him around town with his family before.
I watched Charlie get up and go into the kitchen and get a beer. Not a bad idea. Something was bothering him. He was the chief of police in a small town. He might even know the boy.
"Who is it?" I asked. I was having trouble reading him.
"Edward Cullen." I was right. "Very polite." Charlie cracked open the beer can as he walked towards me. "Very quite, aloof, even with his siblings he stands apart from them." He sat down on the aged sofa. He put his elbows on his knees and cradled his head in his hands. "There has always been rumors. Things you see out of the corner of your eye. Shadows that move for no reason and way too fast."
"Go on, I don't understand. Help me to understand what you mean." I was trying. I knew that there were other things out there. More than humans and werecats. All Prides were closed mouth about their territories. But I had noted that all Prides had their secrets.
Why did Charlie stay behind? What was he protecting?
"The local tribesmen. They have legends. They have a lengthy oral tradition. They believe … they … that they are wolves that could change into humans." Charlie immediately went quite. Most native people had many mythical legends. He was willing to bet there was more than a grain of salt in this one.
"What do you mean, 'wolves that change into humans'." He worded that kind of funny.
"At first I thought it was stories that Billy told around the bonfire. He had lots of others. Even some that went as far back as the Great Flood. He use to tell a story about these creatures. Their skin is icy cold to the touch. Very pale, beautiful, and deadly. They can move as fast as the wind and they have ruby red eyes. In full sunlight they shine like gemstones."
Charlie looked haunted as he stared at the different pictures on the walls. I was trying to wait him out. This was as bad as pulling teeth.
"Billy said they also drink blood," okay just went way left field.
"Let me get this straight," I settled back in the recliner with a beer too. "Your best friend claims to really be some kind of magic wolf that wears a human skin and there are day walking vampires running around Forks that glitter. Did I miss anything?" Maybe I could get lucky and call his bluff.
Charlie didn't say anything for a few minutes. I saw him check his watch three or four times. He took a deep breath put his beer can down. He got up and headed for the front door.
"Hey," what the hell? "Where you going?"
"I'm going to see a doctor about a vampire," he said as put put his gun-belt and coat on. He put his broad brim hat on and looked over his shoulder at me. "Are you coming?"
"Yeah," I still didn't understand. "Where are we going? Speak slowly. I am just not in the mood for this bullshit, Charlie."
"Look, the doctor who in charge of the ER. That the boy's father. Same paleness and eye color. And everyone of them that I have met are cold to the touch." He opened the front door and stared at the pouring rain.
The was the main reason I couldn't live here. It was too wet.
He seemed to still be in deep thought.