A/N: So...everyone surviving? Hanging in there? Awesome. I just love reading your reviews and knowing that I'm not alone in my suffering with this story. Thanks to you all.
Chapter 18
The next few days were absolute torture for the vampires, both Cullen and Denali. It had nothing to do with how Irina was doing her best to make things up to the Cullens in every way possible, but the only one who seemed upset with her at all was Rosalie, which only made her more anxious. That was just a side problem. The main issue all seemed to revolve around their apparent surprise, and how it seemed to be avoiding them.
Alice was going crazy trying to get their surprise to them. The Denalis had never seen the seer try so hard or get so worked up, and had they not been mildly worried for Alice's sanity, they would have found it hilarious. To everyone but Tanya, who knew the truth, it seemed like someone on the rez had something the Denalis would love and that the person who had it was simply doing everything to keep it away from Alice. Not only that, but the human seemed to have a sixth sense for avoiding the seer. Every meeting that the wolves would have with the Cullens to exchange information or give updates, the human would be there...but only if Alice wasn't. It appeared that Bella and the other human were friends so Alice would try to bribe the human into coming over by mentioning Bella and for some reason Rosalie, but the human wouldn't show, and then Bella would mysteriously end up in La Push the second Bella was left alone. The thing that seemed to drive Alice craziest, however, was that the human would pop up in Cullen territory, messing with Rosalie or goofing off with Emmett or even hanging out with Jasper, yet if Alice learned of this and tried to show up, once again, the human would be gone and back in La Push.
The last of course was the worst. Not just for Alice, but for Tanya, and even the other sisters. The smell of the human on other vampires drove Tanya up the wall and even tempted her to cross the border. Something about that scent wouldn't stop calling to her, and she needed to find the source, and she hated knowing the human involved with that scent had been so comfortable with other vampires that the vampires would come home as if they had bathed in the human's scent. She almost attacked Rosalie when she caught the extra scent of the human's arousal. Despite it being faint, despite Tanya hearing Emmett tease Rosalie about how she had accidentally gotten the "poor human" worked up, it took everything she had to hold herself back from ripping Rosalie to pieces. She even was aggressive toward the human out of jealousy, and the poor thing actually started hiding behind Rosalie of all people for protection.
Irina and Kate were the same way, although it seemed to be easier for them to handle as they still didn't realize why they were behaving in such a way. Kate got her aggression on any of the three Cullens through training or "accidentally" forgetting she wasn't supposed to prank them with an electric shock. Every time Irina so much as snapped at them, it horrified the youngest sister, and she would feel even worse and apologize even more heavily, saying she didn't know what was wrong with her. Tanya wanted to tell them, but she wasn't sure how they would react to knowing that their mate was probably so close yet so far away, especially with everything as tense as it was. Even Carmen and Eleazar couldn't calm any of the sisters down, and she wasn't sure what would happen if Kate and Irina got any worse.
Due to the quickly increasing levels of pure insanity, Tanya felt it was best to build a house nearby on Cullen property, with Carlisle's approval of course. However, even that would take a few days, and the Denalis still needed updates on the situation; not just their surprise, but the obvious threat that the Cullens and their human faced.
So tensions still rose, and Alice was so desperate to get the "surprise" to the Denalis that she drove the elusive human into keeping to the La Push side of the border. Not being able to scent her anymore, even on other vampires, put the Denali sisters more on edge. To everyone's surprise, no longer getting surprise visits from the human even put Rosalie and Emmett in a horrible mood. Jasper, who also was less happy without the human, couldn't even stay in a room that held Rosalie, Emmett, and the Denali sisters in at the same time, or he'd be overwhelmed and have to run out of the house.
Then there was poor Bella; the only one still able to visit the wolves and cross the border whenever she wanted, despite the fights she would get into with Edward about it. Every time she came back from La Push, she would be covered in the other human's scent, and next thing she knew she'd have five vampires all but hanging from her. Even if she went right home afterwards, she'd almost immediately have the Denali sisters in her bedroom, or on occasion, Kate would just appear in Bella's truck as she was driving it. Then more often than not, Rosalie would climb through Bella's window, complaining it was her turn to watch Bella while sitting way too close for comfort, and Emmett would be right behind her with his video game system under one arm, ready to play.
It was one thing if Emmett and Rosalie were over; Emmett liked spending time with Bella even when she wasn't coming back from hanging out with Riley, and he made her laugh and they always had fun. While Rosalie was grumpy and quick to snap at Bella, and Bella had spent so much time with Riley that she found she couldn't keep her own mouth shut and would tease or mess with Rosalie like a suicidal idiot, she wasn't such a big deal either. There was a routine between them, although a tense one, and Bella had gotten used to it.
The real problem was the Denali sisters, all who made Bella anxious, tense, and completely clueless as to what she would do. Kate seemed curious about her at the best of times, and save for trying to shock her once after hearing about how Edward couldn't hear Bella's thoughts, she was pretty chill-except after Bella would come back from hanging out with Riley. Then she would have Kate hanging all over her, either being her usual wild, happy go lucky self or she would take one sniff of Bella and get grumpy, muttering about how the stench of the shifters was getting in the way. Regardless of which mood she had, one thing was always present; the fact that she seemed almost confused, or even clueless, as to the force that drove her own actions.
Irina was definitely the easiest to handle. She did her best to keep away from Bella most of the time and went out of her way to assure with actions and words that she meant no harm, not just for Bella but for any nearby vampires as well. When Bella came back from the time spent with Riley, Irina would gravitate toward her until they were pressed close, then seem to realize what she was doing, apologize, and pull away-only to end up against Bella once again. Sometimes after she came back from Riley, Bella would catch Irina staring at her, always with a look of confusion or a perplexed frown. There would occasionally be a look of dawning realization or even hope in Irina's eyes, only for it to quickly vanish behind pain, regret, and even self loathing as the vampire would shake her head in denial.
Then there was Tanya. Quite frankly, Tanya definitely made Bella the most uncomfortable. The coven leader was always watching Bella even when she hadn't just come back from being with Riley. Always, her face would be devoid of emotion, so Bella would have no idea what she was thinking or feeling. There was also the fact that she made Edward so uncomfortable, where he would then stick closer to Bella. When they were finally alone, Bella asked why he was acting so weird, and he admitted that Tanya had a huge crush on him. Well, not huge, Edward clearly tried to downplay it as much as possible, but after some prodding, he admitted that Tanya's thoughts were always about Edward, and some very "inappropriate" ideas about what they should do together. Bella wasn't sure what to think about someone as gorgeous as Tanya being interested in Edward even if Bella and Edward were in a weird kind of limbo. Especially as she would cling to Bella and seem too invested in breathing in Bella's scent when she came back from hanging out with Riley, even if the smell of wolves nearly overpowered Riley's scent. Whenever she did so, her eyes would flash with jealousy and anger, but also such powerful desire it made Bella want to scoot away. Whenever she tried, Tanya would snarl and pull Bella back against her, and Bella wouldn't really have any choice but to take it.
Edward tried to intervene a few times when he saw the Denalis crowding Bella, but after he almost lost a limb for the fourth time, he had to give up. They never tried to hurt Bella after all, and whenever he tried to figure out what they're thinking, he would only find their minds strangely silent, leaving the mindreader in the dark. Since he wasn't sure quite why everyone was staying so close to Bella and worried it might be her scent enticing their bloodlust that was part of the problem, he stayed as close as he dared just in case.
Having five vampires so obsessed with smelling her and not wanting to eat her was way weirder to Bella than having the vampires wanting to drain her, and it was getting worse every day that Riley didn't show up. At one point, Rosalie and Irina hissed at each other when trying to get the spot next to Bella's free side, and Bella promptly snapped.
"Where are you going?" Edward asked as Bella started back out of the house after having only been in the Cullen house for five minutes. He followed behind Bella as close as he dared, as the way the Denali sisters and Rosalie eyed him made him feel like he was in danger if he wasn't careful.
"Back to Riley, this is getting insane," Bella snapped. "I don't know what's going on, but this is just too much. I'm sorry, I really am, but things are so tense and having people fighting over me is just...I know you can't really seem to control it and that something about Riley's scent is driving you all insane, but I can't just sit there and pretend everything is fine when I have a bunch of vampires willing to fight over me just to get a sniff in."
"You know I don't like you going over there. It's stressful enough having you around the shifters for all the hours you were over there today. Can't you wait until it's necessary to go over there again?"
Bella whirled on Edward with a glare, making the boy recoil in surprise. "For the last time, I'm not in danger around the wolves! Yes, they're strong, and yes, they have tempers, but they have never once snapped and shifted when they were close to me." Save for that one time with Paul when Bella found out shifters existed, but she wasn't about to bring that up. "Second of all, this is necessary. Or do you want the Denalis and your sister to just continue to lose their minds?"
Irina looked guilty, Kate looked almost sheepish at her own actions, while Tanya grimaced in embarrassment. Rosalie, of course, looked ready to snap and tear Bella a new asshole for even suggesting that Rosalie was losing her mind, but Emmett quickly intervened and covered his mate's mouth.
"At least let me come with you."
"So you can try to sabotage my truck again? Not going to happen, Edward."
"But it's dangerous. Victoria is still out there, and even if it's for a short drive, you'll be alone and easy prey if she tries anything."
"Fine, I'll take someone else. Someone who actually lets me make my own decisions...which you seem to keep trying to control."
"Bella, I don't mean to. I'm just worried, and a vampire's instincts can make them do stupid things. You know I-"
"I'll go." Two words was all it took for Tanya to end their argument. Everyone, even the Denalis, Eleazar and Carmen included, looked at Tanya in surprise. "I'm a better fighter than you anyway, so if anything really does happen, I'll be better prepared than you ever will be."
Edward seemed a bit reluctant to let Bella and Tanya go alone, but he nodded. "Thank you, Tanya, I appreciate it."
Tanya ignored him, keeping her eyes on Bella as she gestured to Bella's beaten up truck. "Let's get going. I don't want this to take long." The sooner Bella got Riley to come over so Tanya could see her, the better.
If you want to get this over with so quickly, why did you offer to come with me in the first place? Bella didn't say it, of course, but the question was probably written on Bella's face as she walked past Tanya toward her truck. She had barely unlocked it when Tanya appeared in the passenger side, not even bothering to buckle up as she crossed her arms and waited for Bella to get in. The vampire was completely silent, even as Bella started the car and drove away from the Cullen house. It was right as Bella resigned herself to one of the most awkward car rides that she had ever experienced that Tanya chose to speak.
"I'm sorry for how my sisters and I have been treating you. I know it must be incredibly confusing," Tanya murmured softly, and the fact that she actually sounded apologetic and almost regretful was what gave the human pause. Or what would have given the human pause, had she not been driving. "It's confusing to Kate and Irina too."
Bella glanced over at Tanya out of the corner of her eye. Thanks to what Riley had taught her about dissecting what people tell you, it was easy for Bella to pick up on what Tanya didn't say. "But it's not confusing to you."
"Oh, it's incredibly confusing," Tanya said with a soft laugh. Before Bella could inwardly curse at herself for having messed up and looked too much into it, Tanya added, "But unlike my sisters, I know why it's happening. Or I hope, rather."
"So why don't you tell them? It might make whatever is happening easier for them to deal with."
"Because if I'm wrong, it'll break their hearts. Especially Irina's." Tanya sighed once before finally looking in Bella's direction. "I'm a vampire and a coven leader, but above all, I'm their elder sister. If I can protect them, I will."
Bella didn't dare take her eyes from the road, but she could still feel the intensity of Tanya's gaze boring into the side of her face. It was hard for the human girl not to squirm. "So...why are you telling me this?"
"I'm telling you because your position means you deserve an explanation. Of course, if I find out that anyone else hears of this conversation, I will make you regret it, so I suggest what I'm about to say stays between us. At least until everything is revealed." Tanya didn't like how quickly they were arriving at the border. She could see one of the mutts waiting for them, and even though he couldn't hear them, Tanya knew he would most likely kick up a fuss if she made Bella pull over. "I won't know for sure until my sisters and I lay eyes on her, but there's a chance that your friend Riley is a very special person to us. While it may be rude of me to ask after all we've put you through, I have to make a request of you anyway. If there's any chance of you being able to arrange a way for us to see Riley, it will be very much appreciated."
While it had been obvious Riley was somehow the reason for it, Bella didn't know why; she still didn't. But she wasn't sure if she should press matters either. After all, if Tanya wanted to clarify, she probably would have by now.
"What about Rosalie? Do you know why she's acting like this?"
Tanya offered Bella a wry smile. "The answer to that is easy; regardless of what she says, the truth is, she misses Riley. Now, do you think you'll be able to do this for us or not?"
Bella smiled as she thought about how much it would irritate Rosalie if she found out how obviously she cared for Riley. She would probably be stupid and tease Rosalie at the worst possible time, but right now, having someone else confirm what Bella believed made everything worth it. She was so telling Riley later.
"I already planned on it." At Bella's words, Tanya flashed Bella a quick smile.
"Thank you," Tanya said, and just like that, she disappeared from Bella's truck a second before Bella crossed the border. Bella caught sight of Jacob and stopped her truck so she could let him in, trying to play it casual. "What are you doing out here, Jake?"
Jacob wrinkled his nose at the fresh scent of vampire as he hopped into the passenger seat, but thankfully didn't say anything. "Got a call from Eddie that you were coming back. He wanted to make sure you had someone to protect you once you entered La Push. As your safety is the one thing we can agree on, here I am."
As Bella currently had at least one vampire who wanted her dead, she wasn't going to complain. She was even a little proud of him for not using a ruder nickname for Edward. "Thanks. Where's Riley at right now? I need to talk to her."
"Couldn't what conversation you want to have with her happen over the phone?" The annoyed look Bella flashed him made him swallow nervously. "She's at the pack house."
"Buckle up. I'm going to get there as fast as I can," Bella warned and gunned the engine. Jacob did as command as her truck roared to life...and then promptly sputtered and died. His fear of Bella's mood was what kept Jacob from laughing at Bella's failure as Bella cursed creatively under her breath. Riley really has been influencing her a lot, hasn't she? Jacob thought as he listened to the stream of curses, not sure how he felt about the drastic change. He didn't have long to wonder about how else Riley might have changed Bella, as Bella finally revived her truck. She took off at a much slower pace, having learned her lesson. Her truck was not meant for speed.
Only ten or so minutes passed, but it felt so much longer as Bella thought hard about what Riley's connection to the Denalis could be. Had they somehow met before? Then why wouldn't Irina and Kate realize it? Bella had to come up with a plan, fast, or who knew how much longer she would be hounded.
Bella didn't even try to do a good parking job before she killed the engine and jumped out of her truck with a confused Jacob following behind her. Not wanting to storm in like she was looking for a fight, she took a deep, seriously necessary breath before opening the door and stepping inside, Jacob following close behind her.
Riley was incredibly easy to spot. There was just something about her that always drew the eye, and even among a bunch of seriously built and good looking shifters, Riley's beauty seemed to shine like a beacon. Of course, Bella had noticed by the second time she had hung out with the pack that Riley had this pull to her, one that made the shifters all but revolve around her, and so Bella learned to always find the center of the group to look for Riley.
That's just where Riley was today as well. Currently, she was sitting between Leah's legs, the female shifter's arms wrapped loosely around her middle. Paul was next to Riley on Riley's left, a side he was learning to stay on more and more so that Riley was less likely to hit him with her injured arm. On her right was Seth, leaning lightly against Leah's side as he stared at Riley's arm, currently in the process of being treated by Emily, with strong concern. Quil was hanging half off a chair behind them while Sam watched Emily and Riley much like a worried dad would watch helplessly as his wife took care of their injured child. He had good reason to be, too, judging from how fucked up Riley's arm looked. Jared and Embry, as well as the new pack additions Brady and Collin, were missing, and Bella knew it was most likely that they were out on patrol, as there was no way they wouldn't be hovering over Riley otherwise. Clearly whatever had happened to her arm hadn't happened that long ago, as Jacob appeared just as stunned and let out an almost impressed sounding whistle.
"Sup Bella, didn't expect you to come back so soon. You miss me that much?" Riley asked, way too at ease given how red and angry and almost burnt her arm looked.
"I wasn't even gone for an hour yet. What the hell happened to you? What did you do?" Bella's own reason for coming to see the other human was no longer on Bella's mind as she rushed over to her friend. She had seen the wound made from the lightning strike many times, especially right after Riley did something stupid. However, they never looked this bad before, and it scared Bella. Wounds were supposed to get better over time, not like...that.
"Rude of you to assume I did something," Riley huffed. She tried to cross her arms over her chest, only for Emily to snatch up a water bottle and expertly spray Riley in the face with such accuracy not a single drop of water got on Riley's bad arm. Riley didn't appear shocked in the least as she gave her injured arm back over to Emily. "For once, I didn't actually cause this. It just kinda exploded."
"Exploded?" Riley had to be exaggerating, right? Arms didn't just explode. Yet the look on many of the pack's faces made Bella think Riley wasn't too far off in her description. "Tell me you're joking. Please."
Riley shrugged helplessly, only to wince with a hiss as pain shot up her arm, almost to her neck.
"Stop moving or I'll spray you again," Emily warned. She almost looked ready to cry, and it was that, not the threat, that made Riley mumble an apology. "I don't know what I can do. You really need to go to the hospital or some specialty doctor or something."
Leah tightened her grip when she felt Riley stiffen in her arms, knowing how much the idea scared the human. A part of her wanted to agree with Emily, or really just insist on it so that Riley could get some extra help. However, the rest of her already knew that there was nothing anyone else could do to help her friend. Not any normal person, anyway. She had been the closest to Riley when it had gone down, had seen the sparks, then something that looked like fire glowing beneath Riley's skin before it had burst out of her semi healed wounds. There was something very wrong with Riley, but that something wasn't natural.
"Taking her to a doctor isn't going to do shit," Paul snapped. Sam let out a low growl at the way Paul spoke to his imprint, and Paul let out a breath and forced himself to settle. "Sorry. I didn't mean…"
"I know you didn't," Emily assured him. She lathered Riley's arm with some kind of cream before starting to wrap it back up. "Riley, I know how much you hate them, but I'm not that knowledgeable when it comes to treating people for things like this. There could be people who could help you better than I can."
Riley grimaced and quickly turned to Bella. "So what are you doing here? You didn't actually miss me enough to come running back, did you?" Everyone knew Riley was changing the topic on purpose, she wasn't even trying to hide her intentions, but nobody could bring themselves to call her out on it either.
Bella cleared her throat, shifting awkwardly. She was not about to ask Riley if she could meet with a bunch of unknown vampires when the girl was in such shit shape. "It can wait until later. Right now, you should probably be resting."
"Screw that. Rest if for the weak, and it sure as hell isn't for me." Despite the joking tone she used, Riley's eyes had a serious, knowing glint to them that looked out of place on Bella's friend. "It's important, isn't it? Spill. Or I swear to fuck, I'm going to do something super fucking stupid the second I get the chance. Probably won't even mean to do it either."
"For the love of god, just tell her!" Leah blurted, some of the panic that she felt over the whole situation accidentally leaking into her voice. Hearing it, Riley leaned back against Leah to try and give her some comfort.
Bella grimaced. "Fine. I need you to visit the Cullens and the new vampires that are here as soon as you're up to it."
The wolves didn't seem to like hearing that. All of them grew tense and Paul and Leah even released low growls, but Riley only arched an eyebrow at Bella. "Does this have anything to do with why the pixie midget keeps trying to hunt me down?"
Don't remind Riley of her own height. Don't remind Riley of her own height. "Most likely, yeah."
"Why should I?" Riley frowned as she considered it. She had found it strange how hard the midget had been trying to get Riley to the Cullen house, which was why Riley had put so much work into avoiding her; and, admittedly, she was avoiding Alice because it was so much fun for Riley too. To end the game-chase-no, to give in to Alice when she still didn't know Alice's intentions didn't sit well with Riley.
"Honestly, everyone is going crazy from not seeing you." Bella saw the suspicious look in Riley's eyes, and quickly added the little information that she knew would tempt her friend. "Including Rosalie."
Riley snorted. "You expect me to believe Rose begged you to come drag me to the Cullen house? You'll have to be a better liar than that."
"I'm not lying. You can tell that I'm only telling the truth, can't you? She didn't beg me to come get you, and she definitely won't admit it, but she misses you. Every time I come back from hanging out with you, she hovers around me for hours, it's crazy." Bella could tell her words were working; Riley's desire to tease the blonde Cullen was too strong for her human friend's good.
There was a mischievous glint in Riley's eyes as her brain worked to come up with all kinds of ways to mess with Rosalie. "Okay, I'm in. When can I-" With a grunt, Riley fell back into Leah's lap as Leah pulled Riley back down. "What was that for?"
Leah only looked at Riley helplessly, unable to explain her own behavior while Paul and Quil snickered at her expense. Thankfully her brother, Emily, and Sam seemed more sympathetic to Leah's emotional plight. Even better, despite their own thoughts and feelings on the matter, none of them wanted Riley around a bunch of vampires, especially those they didn't know, unprotected.
"I'm sorry, but I don't believe that's a good idea," Sam said apologetically, doing his best to ignore Riley's annoyed glare. "You have to understand, having unknown and dangerous vampires around humans in Forks is bad enough, but after what just happened...Riley is very volatile."
"Like hell I am!" Riley cried indignantly. "I can behave myself, damn you!"
"Sam meant your arm, not you," Seth tried to reassure her.
"Nah, Sam meant Riley and her arm," Paul muttered. "And I'm in complete fucking agreement with him."
"Fight me, Lahote," Riley snapped.
"What I mean is that currently, Riley can't just start randomly bleeding in front of vampires, especially those we can't trust."
"See? I told you he just meant your arm." Seth's words started to soothe Riley, but Sam had to continue.
"And we all know Riley is an expert at pissing people off. It's a really dangerous combination." Sam ignored another indignant cry from Riley as he sighed, glancing at Riley's now bandaged arm. "It would be one thing if we can protect her, but with the way things are going...between her arm and her personality, there's a pretty big doubt in my mind that she'll survive even an hour with these vampires."
Bella couldn't exactly swear no one would hurt her. However, she still had an idea, and she was going to at least mention it before giving up. "I know Riley is really great at making people want to kill her-"
"You know I'm right here! I can hear you!" Riley complained. "I am not that bad! I can charm the panties off anyone I want if I try! Except for Leah, apparently, but I've totally charmed the panties at least half way down her legs."
Leah was too slow to react, slapping her hand over Riley's mouth only once she was done speaking. Still, she kept her hand there, blushing a dark red as she muttered, "Forget an hour, she probably won't last ten minutes."
"I bet she wouldn't even make it past five," Paul added.
"I say the first sentence she speaks pisses someone off," Quil piped up.
Jacob had to add his own opinion. "Nah, she won't even have to say a word. She just has to give them one of those looks and one of them is going to snap."
"Guys, don't be mean. Riley can definitely make it past the first ten minutes." Despite Seth's words, the look on his face and the tone of his voice proved how little confidence he had in Riley. She let out some muffled expletives at them all in response, but couldn't exactly prove them right without getting a chance to see the vamps.
"What if there was a way to have Riley meet the vampires with you guys there to keep an eye on her?" With Bella's suggestion, all eyes turned to her. "Don't forget, both you and the new vampires are here because of a potential threat and I hate to say this, but you guys haven't fought many vampires. Maybe we can have some kind of joint training session?"
Sam seemed to think deeply for a minute, glancing at Riley one or two more times with more concern he had ever shown for anyone besides his imprint, before finally nodding. "We'll most likely have to work some things out, but I'm open to trying if they are."
Bella let out a breath of relief. "Thank you, I'll call them up now and see if we can make this happen. Honestly I didn't think you would agree."
Sam sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "A few weeks ago, I wouldn't have. However, Riley has been working on me and the pack quite a bit with our view of vampires. She's been doing her damndest to get us to open our eyes a little wider, and it's been working." He looked over at Riley once, a fond smile curving his lips before he quickly adopted a serious face. "I better not regret this."
"I'm sure you won't." Bella was quick to make the call as Riley started smack talking the wolves.
"Just you wait, I'm going to totally charm every single fuckwit there. If anyone pisses them off, it's going to be you dumbasses. And I'm going to-"
"They want to start the training session as soon as possible. They said you're welcome to come to their house if you want," Bella said while still on the phone. She looked over at Sam questioningly. "Is that alright?" The alpha nodded once, and Bella got back to speaking to the Cullens, leaving the rest of the shifters, as well as Emily and Riley, staring in shock at how quickly the Cullens had agreed.
"Prove it to you...much sooner than planned, apparently."
Quil started to laugh at Riley's words. "You're so fucked."
For some reason, Riley couldn't actually disagree with him.
A/N: I know, I'm cruel. Very, very cruel. But jokes on you, because if you all kill me, you'll never get the next chapter! So hah!