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Chapter 146
Charlie
Edward
It was just after two in the morning when Jake's text message reached me.
I gently stroked my sleeping angel's peaceful face, kissed her tenderly on the forehead, kissed my baby, and carefully tucked them both in before fulfilling fatherly duties as chauffeur.
They expected me at a 24-hour snack bar. Dinner was long ago, and wolves pretty much were always hungry.
I entered the joint and smirked.
My girls were already asleep.
"Good evening," I wished formally.
"Ahh ... zeer s'our chauf'eur" Jake said chuckling.
"Yep, tis reassy cinvennents", Marcus chuckled too.
"Are you guys drunk?" I asked the teenagers who didn't stop with chuckles.
"Just ta widdle bits", Jake tried to make me believe.
Sure!
"You're not twenty-one. How do you get alcohol in a night club?" I asked.
Well. I was not naive. Someone always knew someone who was either old enough or at least could produce an appropriate ID to take care of the younger ones. Or simply a bartender who didn't care about the age of their customers. But in the case of my children, I was a bit more curious. I didn't mind if they drank alcohol. They were young and were allowed to go too far sometimes. But everything had its limits ... and the way the two looked at me, this limit was far exceeded.
In response to my question, I was merely grinned at.
"Have you paid yet?" I asked.
Marcus shook his head and pulled his wallet out of his jacket.
"I got it."
A dark-skinned man handed me the bill at the counter.
"I hope you didn't have any trouble with them," I said, really hoping they hadn't misbehaved.
"Well. They weren't rude or aggressive," the gentleman began to say somewhat sullenly.
I gritted my teeth.
"The short-haired one (Leah) was having trouble picking out a cupcake and knocked over the tray. The one next to her (Marcus) pushed two plates to the edge of the table and overlooked the fact that the table was ending. The one on the right (Jake) wanted to show the others something. I don't know what it was supposed to be. Kung Fu or something. In the process, he lost his balance and bumped into a guest, who dumped his coffee over his clothes. And the one with the long hair (Becky) tried to build a pyramid out of glasses. She didn't succeed very well ... But otherwise they were quite peaceful. They just made jokes and laughed all the time," I was told with an increasing smile.
I nodded and gave a very generous tip.
"Can you manage to carry the two of them to the car?", I asked very skeptically when they refused to let me help them.
The boys nodded - grinning stupidly.
With each a hand under their chins, I turned their gaze on me.
"If you drop them, I'll break your arms!" I threatened. "Multiple times, so that it's fair!" I followed up in Jake's direction. I wouldn't do that, of course! Nor would I let it get that far in the first place.
But the threat worked.
The anxious adrenaline had certainly soaked up a little promille in their blood.
Very carefully and attentively - as far as it was within the realm of possibility in an inebriated state - they carried their beloveds to the car.
On the way home, Jake and Marcus were convinced it was just an empty threat.
I objected.
Convincing. My princesses lay not yet safely in bed.
Therefore, at home I was generously allowed to carry the girls upstairs.
Unfortunately, when I returned to my bed, Bella woke up.
When it was not clear when and in what condition the children were back, she always slept fitfully.
She asked if I had gotten the kids and how drunk they were.
"How do you know they've been drinking?" I asked, dumbfounded.
"I'm their mother," she just mumbled, snuggled into my arms and immediately fell back asleep.
Like every Saturday, I got up early.
Matter of opinion. It was half past seven.
I started up the coffee maker and then gathered together ingredients.
I wouldn't need to get rolls today, I thought with a bit of spiteful anticipation.
Charlie woke up. He was an early riser and knew that everyone else would still be asleep.
He already wanted to make coffee while thinking about yesterday.
"Good morning, Charlie," I greeted him in the kitchen, holding out a cup. "Black? Or do you use milk or sugar?"
"Morning," he grumbled in surprise. "Thank you. Black ... You're making breakfast?"
"I do that every morning ... I don't sleep," I replied and turned back to the croissants.
On Saturdays, our breakfast table was not nearly as richly set as on Sundays, but I still baked croissants. My family liked them so much and mine were better than the ones from the bakery. That was the unanimous opinion.
Our kitchen was too small for a table or even chairs, so Charlie shuffled over to the dining table. He sipped carefully, turned a chair toward the kitchen, sat down, set the cup on the table, and then the subordinate clause had seemingly been transformed into meaningful information.
"What was that?"
He almost fell off his chair and wondered if he had misunderstood.
"I don't sleep," I repeated, putting the tray with the pastries into the oven. "I don't eat or drink either," I added and sat down with him. Some details he could learn quietly, without being able to draw conclusions about our species.
He took apart my further statement word by word.
"Then why are you making breakfast?" he inquired, taking a sip from his cup. "... And such good coffee?" he also wanted to know.
"Because those five people up there mean everything to me, and I would do anything for them!" I said sincerely and emphatically. "Marcus and Becky are here ... and very soon there will be six!", I added, before the question of the number of people had fully manifested itself.
"You're not humans, you said ... Was there really a job offer from Los Angeles at that time, which is why you moved?"
"Why are you questioning this?" I wanted to know. I would answer him honestly, but I was interested in the background of the question, which I couldn't quite see in his mind.
"A long-distance relationship at that age is difficult to maintain, I'll admit, but the fact that the contact ended between you at a moment's notice was something I never understood. You went after Bella to Phoenix to talk to her and get her to return. With your parents' consent, and your father even accompanied you. Therefore, you could not have been indifferent to her. Otherwise you would have let her go."
"And what do you conclude from that?" I inquired.
"That you didn't want my daughter after all, and the move was just what you needed to get rid of her ... So much for my considerations so far. As long as I assumed you were a normal young man. Too cowardly to tell a girl in love the truth."
"And now?"
"Now you tell me you're not human. It makes me consider whether you had other reasons ... After you left, Bella was in a very bad way. You broke her heart and after Jacob's death she even wanted to kill herself ... Human or not, I can't understand her taking you back after what you did to her then. So there must be something she knows, but I don't."
He couldn't sum it up any better than that.
Charlie clenched his hands into fists, and he remembered how Bella had looked then.
Faint human memories, blurred images that nevertheless made me tremble.
"I initiated the move at the time," I said directly.
But I kept talking before he could react on it.
He just felt very confirmed in his negative opinion.
"From my point of view at the time, it was the only right thing that I could do ... I'm not human. The person inside me died of the Spanish Flu in 1918. Since then, I am what I am today. When I met Bella, she turned my whole existence upside down. I felt things that I could not comprehend. She brought out human instincts in me. Awakened needs that I had not known until then. To make her a creature like me would have been easy. Indestructible, immortal ... accident-free. We have too good senses and reflexes to trip or anything like that."
"Accident-free?" questioned Charlie.
"Quite honestly. I wonder how Bella could ever turn seventeen without a personal bodyguard!" I smirked, and Charlie actually joined in. "She wanted to be like me. She asked me several times, but I always refused. I wanted so much more for her ..." I started to say and explained a little more detailed.
That I did not want to take her life. That I wished her a full life. That she wouldn't have to leave her father with the assumption that she had died. With a man who wouldn't have to watch out for accidentally killing her. With children.
"... I could not have offered her all that. That's why I left. In addition, I was afraid that one day I might kill her myself. Whether from her request or from a thoughtless gesture," I ended, while taking the croissants out of the oven.
"But you don't look that dangerous. Don't you think you're talking yourself into something? Looking for an excuse or the like?" he asked doubtfully.
I went outside and picked up a little stone from the flower bed and handed it to him.
As I did that time with David, I smirked to myself.
"No, Charlie. When we talk about danger, we don't mean it in an exaggerated sense, but literally. I'm really dangerous ... Try crushing the stone," I urged him.
He peeked drolly, but tried.
Cute.
I took the stone from him and let the sand trickle from my hand into his empty cup.
"And that's not the only danger that comes from my kind! Bella always knew the risk, but she didn't care. I wasn't willing to expose her to my world any longer," I said as he examined the sand. "I thought a clean break - the absolute cessation of all contact - would help her forget me quickly and forever. I was wrong. I know now what I did to Bella with this, but I didn't feel any better over the years ... I was not prepared to meet Bella here again. We chose this town at random. This was supposed to be just another little place. But her being here has changed everything. Bella had the children she didn't want to know about at the time, but she was alone. Already for a very long time. I didn't leave her for that ... My heart has belonged to her for almost twenty years. I have never forgotten her, never let go of Bella. She has forgiven me ... Bella rules my life!"
I left Charlie alone with his thoughts for a bit while I put the croissants from the tray into the little basket and set the table. I also gave him a new cup of coffee, on which he burned his tongue a little.
He thought over all my words, trying to remember a little bit about that time. A random conversation with Carlisle went through his mind, when Bella and I were already officially a couple. And how happy we were. But he had also seen us argue. Once.
"What was it that time Bella took off for Phoenix? In the middle of the night? She came home completely distraught, and you guys had such a huge argument that she left Forks immediately?" he then asked.
Well. Charlie objected to me on principle: I was his daughter's boyfriend. These were the basic concerns of any father. Moreover, Bella had only been living with him for a short time and he didn't want to share her with anyone right away. Moreover, this evening had demanded a persistent and steadily increasing distrust of me.
"We didn't really argue ... That day Bella was able to gain a very precise impression of what the danger of my world actually looks like. And I wanted to keep her safe from that danger, which at that moment simply meant carting her away from Forks. Alice and Jasper drove with her, and I and the rest of my family tried everything to remove the danger. But he saw through our little plan and followed Bella ... I came too late to protect her ..."
For a moment I could not bring more to my lips.
How Bella lay bleeding and screaming in the ballet studio took away my control over my body.
But I regained my composure.
They were only bad memories.
"Edward?", Charlie addressed me cautiously.
I took a deep breath.
Unnecessarily.
"Bella said words to you that night that hurt you very much. Words that Renée once told you. She did it only to protect you. None of the words she said were out of her own convictions. She just needed a reason for you to let her go on the spot, no questions asked," I explained our argument at the time to an end.
Charlie was not quite convinced. He thought I was just putting forward the alleged danger to justify our dispute.
But I smiled.
"When you were at the door demanding answers from Bella, I was in her room helping her pack."
"How did you get in there?"
"Through the window ... I was with her every night," I admitted.
The father in Charlie narrowed his eyes in horror, but I was already on my way to the cup with sand.
"But I assure you nothing happened that wouldn't have met with your approval," I said, handing him the cup.
He looked in indecisively.
"Too dangerous!" I added.
It took him a moment to understand that Bella and I had not behaved indecently. I just collected plus points with him.
"But she's having a child with you," Charlie said, with one last bit of suspicion.
"A lot of things are different today than they were then. I am physically unable to hurt Bella. Neither Bella nor the children. They are too important to me for that!"
He set the cup with sand aside and rubbed his hands through his face to collect himself a little.
He realized that today he had nothing more to say on the subject of sex regarding his daughter. She already had children. So her no longer existing virginity was not really up for debate anymore.
"But she's having a child with you," Charlie repeated.
However, despite the same wording, this time he meant it differently. It didn't fit with my original reasons for having left her.
"Strictly speaking, I'm already dead, Charlie. Nothing in me is alive. We thought that was impossible. Carlisle to this day still doesn't know how this could have happened. He spends almost every night in his lab trying to find an answer," I made clear.
I passed over the fact that in the meantime we had mistaken David for the father.
"And it won't be a normal baby ... Bella has been pregnant for exactly twenty-four days," I added.
Fearful. Yes, Bella was doing really well. But I was afraid about what to expect us when she gave birth. I was not yet completely convinced that in a few days I would be holding my own flesh and blood in my arms. Carlisle was far more confident about this than I was.
"You mean weeks," Charlie smiled.
"No. Days ... twenty-four days! ... Bella and I only encountered each other again about fourteen weeks ago."
The smile died and he looked serious.
"Couldn't it be that she was already pregnant then? It takes a while before one even notices," he asked, puzzled.
I smiled.
"No, Charlie. I have two medical degrees and very keen senses. I can tell immediately when something is wrong with Bella or the others. They can't even hide from me that they are cold," I made clear.
Charlie tried to process this information while I took four cups from the cupboard and poured coffee into them.
Two black, one with milk, one with sugar, as I heard our favorite neighbor approaching.
He came across the terrace. By now it was past eight o'clock. At this hour he could assume that I was in the kitchen, and he didn't need to ring the bell to wake everyone else with it.
I opened the door for him.
"Good morning, Charlie. Did you fall out of bed in Forks? You look a little like you're in shock," David said, surprised at first, and shook his hand. He looked at us in turn for a moment. "Whatever Edward tells you, Charlie, just believe him. He loves your daughter and grandchildren more than anything!" added David.
"I'm working on it," Charlie said vaguely.
I smirked and got a bottle of milk from the fridge while Charlie settled in front of the TV to watch the sports news.
David hadn't said what he wanted here at this time of day, but I had heard it anyway. I handed it to him without being asked.
"Tell me, were you already jogging, or are you just getting ready to go?" I asked.
David went jogging every morning. He preferred the forest for running during the week and his children ate various cereals for breakfast, Cornflakes, Coco Puffs and whatever else there was. But on Saturdays, the bakery was the destination of his morning run, where he brought back rolls for his family.
"Nope, I haven't been yet. Emma wants her cocoa first," he pointed to the milk.
"Do you feel like torturing some teenagers who drank too much yesterday?" I asked further.
David smirked and looked up at the ceiling.
"Are they awake yet?" he asked.
It was rare that David looked so mischievous.
"Not yet," I said, and we took the cups from the sideboard.
We went upstairs, rushed into the rooms at the same time and threw the children out of bed.
They were totally excited about it. Honestly.
"Be downstairs in five minutes!", I determined, receiving a collective sigh from Becky and Jake, who had been so startled that they were sitting on the floor.
With a headache.
David brought the milk over, but immediately returned and I slowly warmed the milk for my goddess's cocoa.
We chatted.
"Have you been able to ask Sonya and the kids about Christmas yet?", I inquired.
"Emma doesn't want to!" chuckled David.
With a jerk, my head flew up.
The little angel did not want to?
"She's afraid Santa Claus won't find her at your house," it was immediately explained, and we laughed.
He would convince her yet and thanked me on behalf of his wife warmly for the invitation.
Five minutes was apparently a bit tight. After twelve minutes, the first signs of life could be perceived in the upper hallway.
Very weak.
Sluggishly they came shuffling down the stairs.
"Morning," Jake grumbled in Charlie's direction, leaning wearily against the doorframe.
"You guys still look pretty tired. Why don't you sleep it off?" asked Charlie.
"He kicked us out of bed!" Leah accused me seriously, pointing her finger at me, causing Charlie to look at me angrily.
"And I'll kick you out of the house too!" I didn't even go into it and opened the door for them.
The kids hated me right now. All four of them! Abysmally! Forever! At least!
David clapped his hands enthusiastically while chuckling incessantly.
He enjoyed being able to tease the kids like that.
"Let's go then, you little rascals!" David fluted good-humoredly and pushed them out of the door. "Ten miles ... or what did you order?" he asked me still.
Sheer horror could be heard from outside.
We gave each other a high-five and away they went.
"Why don't you let my grandchildren sleep in?" then Charlie stood imperiously in front of me as I wanted to return to the kitchen.
"Because I picked up the underage kids drunk from town at two in the morning!", I said, but went into the kitchen.
After all, the milk was on the stove.
"They're just young, that's part of it. They're old enough to have a beer or two," he said in defense of the twins.
"And I don't mind if they have a drink now and then, even if they're not allowed to by law. They usually hold back on alcohol enough to know how to behave, but last night they overdid it. I didn't pick them up merely buzzed, but really drunk. Dishes and glasses were broken in a store. Because of them."
"And you punish them for that?"
"Yes! If David hadn't happened to be here, I would have run with them."
Charlie pondered for a moment.
"Has to be sometimes," he stated and attended to his sports program again.
I filled the cocoa into a pot and into a cup. The breakfast table was completely ready and so I went up to wake my goddess.
She still slept blissfully.
"Bella," I whispered, kissing gently across her back neck.
She turned onto her back and her bulging belly stretched upwards like a gigantic mountain.
I couldn't resist marking the top with the cup.
Bella quickly woke up.
Just as quickly, I set the cup aside and removed myself from Bella's immediate vicinity.
She snapped at me. What would occur to me to abuse our child as a storage surface! Her belly was not a decoration! I should leave and never come back!
"Stand up and say that into my face!", I urged her.
By the way, I stood leaning against the dresser and watched in amusement as she didn't get out of bed. Thereupon she began to throw pillows at me.
"What's going on here?" stormed Charlie into the bedroom.
Fortunately, Bella had not yet thought of freeing herself from the bedspread, in which she had only become more and more entangled. Underneath, she was still naked.
"He put my cup down on my baby!" hissed Bella, pointing her finger accusingly at me.
I smirked.
Like daughter like mother!
But I went to her.
Now I was pissed.
"And that's why you're yelling around here like the world is ending?" asked Charlie, trotting away as I approached Bella.
I knelt in front of the bed and helped my raging angel to sit upright.
"Our baby!" I put right and kissed her.
Tenderly and lovingly. And persistent.
She sighed comfortably and smiled at me extremely amorously when I left her warm lips a little later.
"Now tell me again to get lost!"
"When am I supposed to have said that?" she said a tiny bit snottily.
I loved those mood swings.
I gave her her blood transfusion and went to shower with her.
Meanwhile, the children had also arrived back home.
A little more chipper than when they had left the house earlier.
Bella sat right down at the dining room table and started snacking while I prepared the scrambled eggs.
Charlie came down first after that and sat down.
"Well, Dad, how are you this morning?" asked Bella.
"Confused?" offered Charlie in response.
He peeked into the kitchen to check if I was busy.
So I did him the favor and was very busy. Too busy to listen.
Apparently.
"Just tell me this, Bells. Are you happy?" he asked Bella seriously but quietly, looking deep into her chocolate-colored eyes to recognize the truth in them in any case.
"You have no idea how happy I've been since Edward got here!" assured Bella, thereby looking at me briefly.
I smiled and winked at her.
"And Leah and Jake can handle it?" he asked afterward.
"That you will see for yourself!" said my angel and promptly the children could be heard from above.
In the meantime, in a better mood and without a buzzing head. Exercise in the fresh air. I had hoped that it would drive away the headache. Nevertheless, they came down quite sluggishly. They were probably still tired. How on earth could this have happened? They had hated me before - only to the memory: abysmally and forever! - but now they were already sweet again and wished me a good morning as usual, without thinking about how rudely they had been brought out of their sleep.
And during today's very lengthy breakfast, they all perked up as well.
"What's on the plan for you today?" I asked at some point into the increasingly cheerful mood.
"It's Saturday!" Jake intimated to me, looking at me promptly.
I nodded in agreement.
Tinkering on his Harley.
"I have an appointment with Jazz," Becky said.
She still talked to Jasper regularly, no longer just talking about the rape and what went with it, but other things as well. Depending on what was on Becky's mind. Sometimes they would just talk about how happy Becky was even though she had had that horrible experience. Every now and then Becky had doubts that she should feel this way because of it, which Jazz always talked her out of very quickly. Jazz didn't mind, but was rather proud of the confidence placed in him, to be her walking diary.
"I go to Rosie," Leah announced.
In other words - shopping. She didn't have a Christmas present for Marcus yet and needed expert help in that regard.
I smiled and looked at Marcus invitingly.
"I have to take care of the bus ... Someone shredded a muffin in there!"
At the last part he looked indignantly to the side, where an apology came in the form of a gentle kiss.
"I'm going to clean the basement!" announced Bella with commitment.
I looked towards her very very critically!
"Do you think that's a good idea in your condition?" asked Charlie cautiously.
Bella immediately smiled conciliatorily and explained to him that it was just a joke after all.
In the living room, one wall was decorated with picture frames, but there was still a lot of space in between. Therefore, we had brought new frames and she wanted to choose some photos from the last few weeks, which should also go on the wall. A pastime that I endorsed without hesitation.
Unless she would drive the nails into the wall herself, of course.
"How long are you staying, anyway?" asked Bella of her father as the children cleared the table.
"To be honest, I don't even know. I set out without thinking," Charlie admitted.
"Carlisle and Esmé want to come over later. We plan to spend the holidays with them. They certainly won't mind if you join us as well ... with Sue, of course," I said, and I was really sure of it.
The fact that David could be there with family - they didn't know the decision yet - already pleased them both and two additional people more or less carried no significant weight. Especially since one of them was theoretically aware of our idiosyncrasies, even if Sue didn't know us practically yet. And because of Charlie himself, I didn't see any difficulties either. Everyone had been prepared and also agreed to hold back on any supernatural things because of David's children.
We opened our Advent calendar for today.
On weekends, it usually contained something for our children to do together. Not today, but I was to blame for that. I had mixed up the packages from today and tomorrow, so that they only found sweets. Under prior consultation with Esmé, of course. I still had something to make up for with my children. Bella also knew about it.
As long as I had not told her about the Jaguar, I could not allow myself any misstep with her. Okay, I just could not deny myself the little thing with the cup on her belly this morning.
So I took an envelope out of a cabinet and put it on the table in front of them. I stepped up behind Bella.
It had been our joint idea.
For what felt like an eternity, they stared at the letter. Until Jake's curiosity became too great and he opened it.
"Dad?" he asked, perplexed.
Apparently he was unable to say anything else, which prompted Leah to snatch the paper from his hand. Marcus and Becky were now reading along over her shoulder and Jake was also reading it again.
Charlie involuntarily raised his head at the word, which no one but Bella had uttered today.
He thought he was being addressed. The fact that he was obviously not, confused him somewhat.
Bella and I just smiled together, though.
"How did you manage that, Dad?" asked Leah after skimming the text.
But I would keep that to myself!
"THE 'Ocean Park'?" doubted Becky.
"Wow ...!" was Marcus' stunned comment.
"I still owe you a romantic evening!" I specified.
Bella's pregnancy had caused quite some fuss for a few days, so that the children had been unable to take advantage of a calendar gift from Esmé because of us.
They looked back at the writing.
'Ocean Park' was a starred restaurant right on the ocean where you had to order a table months in advance. The reservation listed there, however, was for a table this evening. The pre-ordered exclusive menu would consist of several courses, to which a sommelier handed suitable beverages in each case to round off each course. The age of the four had been noted as twenty-one, which had cost me a small extra tip. Despite - or perhaps because of - the previous evening, I didn't expect them to get rampantly drunk. But they would not have to drive back home either. I had also reserved two rooms. The best rooms in the house. Each with a view of the sea, both from the bed and the Jacuzzi. There was also free Wi-Fi and pay TV, but that would probably be uninteresting. Finally, there was a rich breakfast, which they could call up until noon, contrary to the actual regulations.
My twins jumped up and fell around my neck and I pressed them against me. They were closely followed by Becky and even Marcus, who was still quite hesitant about such gestures.
After breakfast, Charlie retired to talk to Sue on the phone.
And to make himself clear that the kids were calling me Dad. That confused him.
Becky and Jake also went upstairs again. They both had only comfortable clothes on so far, which Becky was to change before she was carried through the wintry air on Leah's back. Jake, of course, had to help her with that.
I got Marcus the vacuum cleaner from the closet, since he was going to clean his bus, and indicated that he would find everything else he needed in the garage.
"The Audi could use a deep clean, too," I opined, pinching Leah's cheek teasingly as I reached for the ringing phone.
She looked offended.
"The BMW, too, actually," I mused, pressing the green button on the phone.
"Hey, Edward ... We want to drive off ... Can you send Emma over," David warbled in a good mood and I heard through the receiver how he kissed his wife in between.
I was bristled and Leah, who was standing right in front of me and had understood everything, also looked confused.
"Emma's not here!" I indicated.
"Don't fuck with me!" he commanded me with a laugh and apparently really believing it.
Well. This charge was not that far-fetched. I had actually tried to keep Emma once. She had hidden under the dining table to avoid cleaning her room, but had been quite easy to find with her giggles.
But now an ice-cold shiver ran down my spine.
"David! She's really not here!" I said emphatically.
Bella jerkily turned in our direction on the chair.
"WHAT?" cried David, slightly delayed, and I also heard Sonya gasp for breath.
"When did she set off?", I inquired, before he could blabber any useless information with nervousness.
For example, why Emma wanted to come over even though they were driving to Daniel's at any moment.
Bella apparently understood what must be going on because of my question. She turned pale, put a hand in front of her mouth in shock, and began to tremble slightly.
I immediately stood by her, put a hand to her cheek and looked reassuringly into her wide-open almond eyes. But Marcus had also noticed Bella's tension and sat down with her.
"Uh ... over half an hour ago!" replied David.
The fear in his voice was now unmistakable.
Leah was already pulling her sweatshirt over her head and unbuttoning her jeans.
"Road or forest?"
"Forest!"
Leah immediately ran off through the patio door.
"We'll find her!" I promised. Both to David and to my angel.
I breathed another kiss on Bella's forehead and told her not to worry.
As wolves the twins were almost equal to me when it came to speed. Through the small lead Leah reached the forest behind David's house before me and already followed Emma's trail.
I closed in on her.
Emma had not come to us directly at the edge of the forest along the narrow beaten path, as she usually did, but had walked almost single-mindedly deeper into the forest. The smell was so delicate that we could hardly follow it and Emma was often here in the forest. One often took the children for walks here, so that they could get to know the forest and not get lost in it, should they ever wander too far into it and not stick to the rather sparsely sown paths. Therefore, her trail was everywhere and nowhere. Leah's distinct senses were as useless as my own.
But Emma couldn't be too far away yet. She was a three-year-old little girl. How many miles could she have covered in about thirty minutes?
Leah and I stopped and looked around.
Nowhere was there a hint of the little angel. The smell was too faint, and we could not separate it from the previous days. We heard neither heartbeat, nor anything else from her. There was no snow where we could see her path. It was also too dry to see any tracks otherwise. And her thought-image of colors, emotions and concepts was too quiet for me to pick it up.
'This can't be true!' Leah mentally cursed next to me.
We were so deep in the forest by now, Emma couldn't have walked that far. We must have missed something somewhere behind us. And the longer we took to find her, the more dangerous it became for Emma.
Mostly she came running to us without a jacket. Even now ... at these temperatures. And not all the animals of the forest hibernated. Foxes, for example. Or wolves. Coyotes. The local black bears didn't really hibernate either. They did seek a hiding place to sleep, but were fairly easy to wake up. Granted, normally the wild animals didn't get that close to the houses, but if they were desperate for food, it still wasn't out of the question. Emma could also have fallen or slipped and lay unconscious somewhere. A vampire attack was also within the realm of possibility.
I tussled my hair.
'Hunt her!' Leah looked at me with her chocolate eyes promptingly.
"Absolutely not!" I replied promptly.
My senses were not yet maxed out to the last. I could hear, smell, see, and taste more. There was only one situation in which I used everything to the fullest. Leah knew it. My twins had accompanied me once. On the hunt! But I could not use that. I would never harm Emma, but applied this also if I relied only on instincts and hunting drive? I would not take the chance.
'Will you only find her when she has pneumonia!' screamed Leah's thoughts and she additionally growled at me threateningly.
She straightened up to full size and came straight at me. With ruffled neck fur and bared teeth.
My daughter was scary. Fortunately, she didn't look like that when I sent her to bed at night, though that was less of a problem since Marcus.
Despite this truly inappropriate anecdote, I felt my stony skin grow even paler and colder than it already was. I shook my head, unable to say anything.
The fear of what condition we might find Emma in choked my throat. Whether pneumonia, animal attack, or something else.
'Then do it! I'll make sure you don't get too close to Emma,' she threatened me, growling.
I believed her. Every second that passed was an unnecessary risk for Emma, but my daughter was a brave Spirit Warrior who knew exactly what she was doing. I had no choice.
So I closed my eyes and concentrated.
Let my senses unfold. Took in more and more of the forest. Busy vermin on the ground. Far above us, a breeze made the treetops blow gently. A squirrel dug out its hidden supplies. Blood!
My throat burned immediately. I stormed off.
Determined. Unstoppable. Fast. I followed the fine aroma of the red life juice, which made the poison flow into my mouth in anticipation. The burning from my throat pulled itself through all bloodless veins and fibers of my body. Thirst took me over and I surrendered to it. I was in a bloodlust, although I had not yet tasted a single drop. So long I had done without this delicious liquid, which now played around my senses. For so long I had not given these senses such pure blood to taste. I followed my instincts unflinchingly to finally quench my thirst after all these decades! I was a predator! And I was on the hunt!
A growl came from behind me.
And I growled back viciously without looking back.
My prey! And it was no longer far away.
Suddenly, something brutally jumped into my back as only a few hundred meters separated me from my prey.
I wrestled with the huge beast that kept me away from my trophy and repeatedly pushed me to the ground anew. I gave up simply throwing this animal from me to keep chasing after the blood. I had done it several times before, but it didn't seem to impress this creature how it banged hard on the ground, against trees, or against small boulders. It continued to attack me unperturbed, although it did not pick itself up unharmed. Blood dripped increasingly from the dense white fur, the longer it lasted. The stench was bestial and pulled disgustingly in my nose, but this monster did not stop to put itself between me and the blood. And it was not only stubborn, but also quite skillful. The huge paws lay purposefully on my joints, so that I was at the mercy of the massive body and its huge snout. But it brought it not to the end!
The big white beast stood on me. It looked at me as if it would begin to speak at any moment. But all I heard was the beating heart pumping blood incessantly through the veins of my victim.
My blood! To relieve my burning!
It looked me in the eye so intensely that I was able to take advantage of the creature's very fleeting inattention. My right arm slipped from under the monstrous paw and my fingers sprang forward to grab the beast by the throat and never let go. A yelp wanted to escape through the large muzzle, but my hand, hardened into a claw, stifled it already in its approach. This wolf-like creature staggered above me, I managed to free myself. I turned with the powerful body, pushed it to the ground and sat on its trunk. With my free arm I held the not weakly defending legs of the animal in check, but did not neglect for a moment the grip around the throat. My own body was already rejoicing with anticipation.
It would not be long before everything in me could feast on the lovely red elixir.
All of a sudden, the massive body had disappeared.
A human being was lying under me, a young woman, but with such tricks one could not deceive my instincts.
Widened by fear, her eyes looked at me in horror.
Deep warm chocolate brown eyes. They seemed surreally well-known to me. Not just well-known. Familiar. As if I had to know them.
Weak hands laid on mine, still holding her tightly. She tried to pull them from her neck, but there was not much life left in her.
"Da ... d," she breathed weakly, before her eyes fell shut and her hands dropped to her sides.
I released my hand from the human throat.
I was confused.
What had she said?
The lifeless face frightened me in an unnatural way.
A pretty face.
I closed my eyes and supported myself with my hands over the beautiful naked girl on the floor.
Something was wrong. My instincts were pushed back, my hunting instinct extinguished, my thirst ignored. Quickly and brutally.
I casted up my eyes.
A heavy coldness ran through my body from sheer fear.
"LEAHHH ...!" I screamed in panic.
Gently I put my hands to Leah's neck.
Her pulse was getting weaker, and she was not breathing.
My eyes burned as if they were being pierced by red-hot stakes. My heart ached as if someone were ripping it out of me alive. My head seemed to explode and in every fiber of my body I felt only agony and guilt ...
I had killed my daughter!?
Thank you for reading!
