Author's Note: To those who were hoping I'd update something else, I'm really sorry. Right now I'm just trying to write, and I'm going where my muse takes me.
Chapter 11
Emmett was grinning wildly at Rosalie as he made a show of warming up his pitching skills before he actually threw a ball at Rosalie. It was a bad move on his part; Rosalie was so wound up from ignoring her instincts and her mate that she already knew, the second the pitch was close enough, she'd send it flying right into Emmett's stomach. Sure, the only damage done would be to the ball, but it would get her message across.
The blonde wasn't even in the mood to be playing baseball in the first place, but Alice and Edward had insisted, wanting to have a real family outing with Angela involved. Despite the mood Rosalie had been in since her encounter with a certain aggravating alpha, even Esme and Carlisle had insisted she join the game. Maybe they thought it would help Rosalie work out some of her aggression issues.
Rosalie's mind flashed back to her last real encounter with Bella. It felt like an eternity ago, but of course, with her memory, she might as well have been remembering something from a few minutes ago.
"So, what we need to do is fuck."
"We just need to fuck once in awhile."
"Every second of every day, my wolf wants to go to you."
Just remembering the words that Bella had spoken was enough to nearly drive Rosalie insane. The look in the alpha's eyes, the pleading in her voice, not to mention Rosalie's own increasing desires to give in. It had been so hard not to simply find that annoying mutt, treaty or no, and show her how much Rosalie wanted her. No, not that. Rosalie would show Bella how much Bella needed her, make it so that Bella would be begging for more, begging Rosalie to never leave her again.
The idea was beyond tantalizing, but of course, Rosalie had no idea how to make that happen. Going to Bella felt like giving in, and she wasn't about to admit how much Rosalie wanted the gorgeous brunette. Hell, even if they did meet up properly, Rosalie wouldn't even have any idea what to say. It was like they couldn't talk for a minute without fighting. And while Rosalie wouldn't mind rolling around with the alpha, she doubted it would fix many, if any at all, of their problems.
"I don't get why you don't just call her already."
Crack!
Without thought, Rosalie whirled and slammed her bat down on Edward's head, breaking it in half. Edward looked stunned for a second, but quickly got over it.
"See? You wouldn't be like this if you two could just talk it out already," Edward continued, clearly not fearing for his life like he should. Especially with Rosalie's black eyed glare of death focused on him.
"Why don't you go take care of your human before I decide to take off your head?" Rosalie replied in a low hiss, turning to look pointedly at the girl sitting on the sidelines next to Esme. Of course, Rosalie was still openly glaring, making the girl flinch and cower with fear. Rosalie let up, but only so she could turn her glare back on her brother. "Do it."
"Okay, okay," Edward said with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Excuse me for trying to help."
"You should just mind your own business," Rosalie snapped.
"I would, if it didn't feel like you were screaming your thoughts all the time. Trust me, if I could stay out of your head, I would." Edward couldn't help but cringe a little, and Rosalie knew he had definitely seen some of her more...sexual thoughts.
Damn it, Rosalie usually had better control than this. If it weren't for that fucking mutt… But since she clearly had no Bella to take it out on, she glared at Edward's back instead as he walked over to Angela. And when Angela risked a curious glance in Rose's direction, she focused her glare on Angela too.
It wasn't that Rosalie hated the human. It was simply that she hated what Edward had done and was planning. To have revealed himself to Angela, with no plans to turn her, was one of the most ridiculous ideas Rosalie had ever heard of. Being human among a large coven of vampires was just plain idiotic.
But what would you do if you found Bella as a human? a traitorous little voice in the back of Rosalie's head spoke. Would you have simply left your mate alone? Would you have approached? And, one day, would you have been willing to turn her?
Well, she had already made sure Carlisle turned Emmett all those years ago, so turning shouldn't be the problem, as long as that was Bella's choice. Although, the chance of Bella being able to stay human for any length of time would definitely be doubtful. Not only would Rosalie be hyper alert of any dangers to an annoying extreme, but she'd definitely want to touch and fuck, and that wasn't quite possible if Bella was a breakable human…
Damn it, why was Rosalie even thinking about this? She didn't even like the mutt! She was infuriating!
Rosalie squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to get her crazy emotions under control, opening them a moment later so she could stomp over to where the extra bats were lying about. Grabbing one, she stomped back to home base and took up her stance.
"Pitch the ball already!" she snarled at Emmett, clearly ready to get the show on the road. Maybe violence was the only answer in this situation.
Well, there's also the option of incredibly rough, hot sex, that traitorous voice in Rosalie's mind spoke once more, bringing on the desire for Rosalie to slam her head against something. Anything, really, as long as that voice would just shut up. She did not need that inner voice to fuck with her even more.
Emmett threw the ball just then, and Rosalie swung, knocking it right out of the clearing. Alice started to chase after the ball, only to freeze, but Rosalie didn't notice. She was too busy running the bases, trying to pour as much aggression as she could into every step.
Rosalie made it home with nobody trying to stop her, and it was only then that Rosalie realized that Alice was stuck in a vision. At first, Rosalie wasn't too concerned. Alice got visions all the time, after all, and many of them were over incredibly minor stuff. However, Rosalie's unconcerned feelings changed on the matter when Alice came out of her vision, looking absolutely terrified.
"No!" Edward snarled, grabbing Angela and pulling her tightly into his arms in a furiously protective manner.
"What did you see?" Jasper asked worriedly as he wound his arms around his mate, clearly sensing her emotions and needing to do something about it. The man had always appeared to be in the most pain when he felt he couldn't do enough for his mate. He would fight Alice's scarier visions if he could.
"They're coming," Alice whispered, her eyes still distant, locked on whatever she had seen. "Three vampires. They heard us playing, and became curious."
"I'm getting Angela home, now," Edward spat, baring his teeth at whatever threat would come his way.
"Don't. It's too late, and they're too close. If you leave with her now, there's a chance they'll become curious, and…" Alice trailed off. She didn't need to finish her sentence; everybody knew what might happen, even if Angela was heavily guarded.
"Shit!" Violet hissed, moving towards her mate instinctively, not to feel protected, but because, despite her small frame, she felt the need to protect Emmett.
"Everybody, gather together. There's a chance they won't notice her if she's among us," Carlisle said, and everybody instinctively listened. Rosalie heard Edward assuring Angela that everything was going to be fine and that he wouldn't let anything happen to her, making Rosalie want to roll her eyes.
Once everyone was together, all they could do was wait.
The vampires appeared out of the trees pretty quickly. There was a tall, lanky man with long blonde hair and a woman with untameable red curls, led by a black man with dreadlocks. The two in the back looked incredibly wild, like they couldn't even pass for human if they tried, but the man up front appeared different.
There was howling in the distance, causing the three newcomers to glance towards the sound curiously, but quickly dismiss it. They thought it was just a few wolves.
Rosalie, however, stiffened. Her head snapped in the direction of the sound, and she suddenly felt like she was in agony.
She recognized those howls. It was Bella, and the wolf sounded like she was completely freaked out. Something was wrong, terribly wrong, and Rosalie needed to go make sure she was okay. It wasn't even her instincts demanding it-well, they actually were, but it was nothing more than background noise, nearly drowned out by Rosalie's own panic.
Just as Rosalie was about to take off, three pairs of hands subtly grabbed her, holding her still. Rosalie knew it was Emmett, Violet, and Jasper, but she didn't care. She had to go to her mate, and she had to go now.
"My name is Laurent. This is James, and Victoria," the black man who seemed to be the leader announced, making Rosalie realize just where she was at the moment. And just how bad it would be for her family, and maybe even the wolves, if she did something suspicious in front of the three.
It was the knowledge that she might bring trouble right to Bella if she were to leave now that held Rosalie still. Sure, she appeared stoic on the outside. Inside, she was anything but. For all Rosalie knew, Bella could be dying while she just stood frozen like a fool.
Rosalie's ears were straining, but not for the nomads. She didn't even hear another word spoken by them. Instead, her ears were straining towards Bella, trying to understand what was going on.
Honestly, whatever was happening sounded like a fight. Rosalie had to assure herself that Bella could take care of herself, and that she had an entire pack to help her out. Bella would be okay, at least for awhile. She was the alpha, after all.
Even as she tried to assure herself, her body needed to move. And when one last, loud, mournful howl came from Bella, Rosalie almost felt like she her heart had been shattered.
Whatever happened, despite the silence, Bella had to still be alive. Rosalie would know in her soul if she wasn't. Right?
Her eyes moved to where the nomads had been, surprised to only find one left. Carlisle said something about the Denalis, and then he was gone.
Immediately, Rosalie moved to run for the wolves, only to be grabbed by Edward.
"Where do you think you're going? Didn't you hear what Laurent said? Didn't you see James's interest in Angela? We have to stick together and figure out what to do," Edward snapped at her, panic clear in his eyes.
Little did he realize, but Rosalie was so far past panic she was basically insane. She jerked her arm out of Edward's grip, only to step closer, into Edward's personal space. "And didn't you hear those howls? That was Bella. She needs me."
"Oh, so now you want to go to her? I bet she's fine," Edward retorted.
"But I don't know that," Rosalie hissed back. Sneering, she added, "And, if anything, your little human is the one who's safe. At least she's right in front of you, while Bella…" It felt like Rosalie was being choked just thinking about it. If anything happened to Bella, if the wolf was even injured while Rosalie had just been standing in a field, doing nothing, Rosalie would never forgive herself. Screw pride, and screw her need to punch Bella on a minutely basis when they were within ten feet of each other.
"James is planning," Alice piped in, clearly checking out the future. "We have hours before he tries anything, Edward."
"But we need to figure out what to do!" Edward all but exploded. "Angela is in danger, don't you understand?"
"Edward, it's okay. Rosalie should-" Angela started.
Whirling towards the human girl, Edward gripped her tightly, but not enough to hurt. He looked to be in agony as he said, "I can't lose you."
"And I can't lose Bella!" Rosalie shouted. At any other time she would have surprised herself even. But not now. Not with Bella possibly hurt or in danger, and not with the strange, eerie silence coming from where Rosalie had last heard Bella.
"Go, Rose. Just be safe," Esme said, understanding clear in her eyes. "If we need you, we'll call."
Rosalie didn't even need permission to go at this point, but she took that as a signal that at least no one was going to follow her. Filled with frantic energy, Rosalie took off without another word, running as fast as she could in the direction she had last heard Bella.
The run took much too long in Rosalie's opinion, although it had to have taken only a few minutes. But a few minutes, even a few seconds, could be the difference between life and death, and Rosalie felt like every second it took to get there could mean that she would get there a second too late.
She heard a strange yip as the wind blew by her, and that was all she needed to pinpoint Bella's location as she pushed herself to go even faster.
Rosalie burst onto the scene, and would have run straight across the border without a care in the world, had she not found Bella and what had to be every other wolf in the pack standing there. Bella, in wolf form, was staring at her with bright yet unreadable eyes, the alpha's paws actually on the border, only a few centimeters away from breaking the treaty.
Rosalie froze, her eyes roaming over every inch of Bella's body, looking for injuries. She didn't see any, and she also didn't smell any blood, but that wasn't enough. How could she know her mate was uninjured if she couldn't actually see under Bella's thick fur?
"Bella," Rosalie spoke softly, taking a step towards her wolf. As she did so, all of the other wolves stood, some growling uneasily. But as Rosalie took a step forward, they all took a hesitant step back. There were a few more uneasy growls and yips, but neither Rosalie or Bella noticed. They only had eyes for each other, and like Rosalie was looking Bella over thoroughly, Bella appeared to be doing the same.
A silent communication passed between the wolves. Apparently something was decided, because all but Bella withdrew silently into the wolves, leaving the two girls alone. A little sliver of sense in the back of Bella's mind let Bella know that they were going to run the perimeter, checking for those new vampires and any other dangers. That was great; it was nice to know that they were smart enough to do some work without her.
Rosalie looked nice too. And not bloody at all, which was a huge relief. Not enough to completely calm Bella, but enough to stop her from growing crazy.
There was a strange, almost hesitant look in Rosalie's eyes, coupled with fear. It was a look that worried Bella, because hesitance and fear was not something that Rosalie Cullen ever seemed to feel. It looked completely foreign, and Bella felt her heart drop.
Something bad had happened to Rosalie after all. And Bella hadn't been there to protect her.
"Can you…?" Rosalie started as she crept closer to the treaty line, only to pause as she heard Bella's heart rate pick up immensely. What was it? Was it danger? But what could Bella hear, see, or smell that Rosalie couldn't?
Before Rosalie could ask Bella if a threat was still present, Bella shifted back to human. Rosalie only got a glimpse of the naked girl, but that was more than enough; it was now a screenshot forever in Rosalie's memory.
In the next second, Bella muttered a quiet, "Damn it all." And then Bella's arms were around the vampire, grabbing Rosalie and dragging her right across the border line and into Bella's tight embrace.
When that happened, it was easy to believe a fight would break out, simply judging by their past experiences together. Instead, Rosalie melted in Bella's arms, beyond relieved that Bella appeared to be uninjured. For once, there was no torment inside of the blonde. Instead, she felt such amazing peace and joy that it actually made her feel warm inside.
Clutching tightly to the alpha, Rosalie closed her eyes and breathed deeply, inhaling Bella's scent as she listened to Bella's furiously beating heart start to slow as the wolf relaxed. In turn, Bella nuzzled Rosalie's neck, breathing in Rosalie's scent just as deeply as Rosalie was breathing in hers.
Had anyone been watching the scene, they would have thought they were watching two old lovers be reunited. Nobody would have ever been able to believe that these were two women who would act like they were going to kill each other whenever they so much as made eye contact.
"Are you hurt?" Bella rumbled in Rosalie's ear, her voice sounding more wolf than human.
Surprised, Rosalie tried to pull back and look into Bella's eyes. She didn't get even a few centimeters away from Bella before the wolf tightened her grip with a warning growl, making it clear that the alpha didn't like Rosalie pulling away.
"No. Why would you think that?" Rosalie asked incredulously.
Bella let out a sigh of relief, her entire body relaxing as she rested her head on Rosalie's shoulder. Her grip on the blonde tightened a little further, as if she believed that Rosalie could still be taken away from her. "I scented three new vampires. They smelled dangerous, and I could tell that they were near you."
"Is that all that happened?" Rosalie asked, absently nuzzling Bella's collarbone.
"That I know of. Why? Did something else happen? Did they try to hurt you?" Bella demanded, starting to work herself up into a frenzy. She calmed quickly as Rosalie shushed her and stroked up and down Bella's back.
Rosalie almost laughed aloud, partly out of disbelief, partly out of humor. If nothing had happened, that meant that Rosalie had gotten herself worked up, fearing that Bella would be killed, simply because Bella had gotten herself worked up afraid for Rosalie's safety. The irony certainly didn't escape her.
"What? What's so funny?" Bella grumbled, delivering what felt like almost a disapproving nip to a spot behind Rosalie's ear. Somebody clearly didn't like being left out of the loop.
"Nothing," Rosalie murmured, about to laugh again, simply because Bella was being so adorable. That laugh died as Rosalie's hand wandered, and she realized that she was currently embracing a naked Bella Black. Now that she was coming back to herself, realizing that Bella was actually safe, she didn't know whether to be aroused, or aroused and pissy for revealing how scared she was for the mutt. Wasn't she supposed to make Bella beg for her, not the other way around? Rosalie Hale didn't do desperate, after all.
Bella froze, letting out a low rumble as she pulled back to stare into Rosalie's eyes, Bella's own eyes bright with desire as she scented Rosalie's arousal.
The world seemed to freeze as Bella leaned in, driven by instinct and her own desires, needing to taste and touch Rosalie. Half to assure herself that Rosalie really was alright, and half because she really, really just wanted to kiss the blonde. She was actually pretty attractive, when she wasn't acting all bitchy.
Rosalie felt a strong desire to simply grab the girl and drag her into a hungry, heated kiss that would release all the pent up emotion between them, right before Rosalie started groping Bella's perfect body. She would've gone through with it, too, had her phone not let out a shrill ring the very moment before she started to go through with her plan.
Both girls jerked as if startled from their own private fantasy land, but Bella actually released Rosalie and stumbled back, a look of absolute horror on her face.
"What?" Rosalie snapped, pissed off-not at Bella, but at Edward, for daring to call at that very moment. She didn't give a fuck about the danger the human was in, had Rosalie really been necessary in protecting Angela at that very moment, she knew Alice or any other vampire would have called her instead. She was actually so angry, she glared into Bella's eyes and not her breasts, which she would have done in any other situation. "Disgusted that you nearly kissed the Ice Bitch?"
Bella swallowed hard and nodded in agreement, eyes still wide. "You have no idea how much this freaks me out, blondie," the alpha replied.
Bella might have been the one who wanted to fuck Rosalie as soon as possible, but she didn't actually expect to feel anything when she was with the vampire. Well, she didn't expect to feel anything besides pleasure. The alpha actually believed that all that sappy emotional crap would never threaten to bubble up when she touched, let alone even looked at, Rosalie fucking Cullen.
Yet here Bella was, feeling things she had never felt before. And it absolutely terrified her.
"Look," Rosalie started, ignoring another call from Edward. At that point, she wasn't ready to just drop what had clearly been going on between them. Her usually cold body felt as if it was on fire, and after expecting to find Bella half dead, she was on an emotional high. One that might actually make Rosalie admit that she had feelings for the cocky mutt. "What's happening between us-"
"Nothing. There's absolutely nothing happening between us. This is a fluke," Bella said immediately, a note of panic clear in her voice. "It's the bonds at work. It's not us, damn it. We don't feel shit for each other."
At Bella's words, Rosalie's irritation spiked. She started to reach for the alpha, itching to get her hands wrapped around Bella's neck so she could choke some sense into her. But as she started to reach for Bella, the girl exploded into her wolf form and too off.
Rosalie let out a snarl and coiled to spring so she could launch herself at the wolf before she got very far, only to freeze as she realized where she was.
She was on La Push territory. Yes, Bella had been the one who dragged her over, but this could be seen as breaking the treaty. It definitely would be seen as an act of war if Rosalie were to tackle the pack alpha on top of that.
For a moment, Rosalie considered chasing after Bella anyways. But by then, the gorgeous mutt was already long gone, and Rosalie's phone was ringing once again.
Taking a few quick steps so that she was once on the Cullen side of the border, Rosalie grabbed her phone and answered the call.
"What, Edward? And this better be good."
"It is," Edward snapped back, before taking a deep breath to compose himself. "Angela is in grave danger. If we don't figure out something soon, she and her father might be killed."
"Got it." Sighing, Rosalie sent one last searching look towards the forest where Bella had disappeared to, still finding nothing. "I'll be at the house soon."
Hanging up the phone, Rosalie let out a frustrated scream and punched a hole straight through the nearest tree. Then, before she could rage and destroy the forest any more, she turned her back on the La Push territory and ran away.