Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, I just enjoy borrowing her characters for a while.
AN: Sorry for the cliff hanger at the end of the last chapter. It was a bit of an accident.
Thank you so much for everyone who is reading and reviewing. It just makes me so very happy that people care about this story.
To the people who have been messaging and been so kind. Thank you for helping me to remember the joy of being part of this community. I've missed it so much. I'm sorry I let myself be chased away for so long.
No beta again I'm afraid. I can only apologise for any mistakes I missed. Last chapter there was a 'you're' in place of a 'your'. I was mortified! I got out of bed to fix it at 3am. I will try to do better.
End of last chapter:
As the man who was unmistakably Bella's father eventually stepped out of the forest, he froze. His eyes drinking in Bella, trying to reconcile the changes that must be obvious.
"Isabella," he cried, rushing forwards despite the warning growls instantly issued by all the wolves. He tried to sweep her into his arms but she was far too immovable. Bella tried to move with him so he didn't hurt himself on her and the result was a clumsy embrace. I didn't want to intervene but the way Charlie held Bella was very dangerous. His neck was exposed to her nose and the scent of human blood still lingered perilously in the air despite my efforts to reduce it.
"Dad," Bella said, obviously fighting the urge to hold him tight with the need to protect him. Then she took a breath in order to say something more.
Bittersweet
"I missed you so much," Bella whispered.
Charlie was very lucky that Bella's control was so strong.
"She's fine," I reassured the wolves. "She won't hurt him." Even though I knew how much he must be hurting her, I had faith in her control, especially with someone she loved. It went against my instincts to leave her in pain but I wouldn't interrupt their reunion.
Charlie stepped back and held her at arm's length, staring at her with unshed tears."I thought I'd never see you again," he said gruffly.
"I'm so sorry for everything," Bella said sincerely.
"Do not apologise to me," Charlie said in a steely voice. "You were my child, I should've protected you."
"There was nothing you could have done," Bella told him.
"I could have talked to you, Bella. Or even listened to you. To have been someone you could've trusted and confided in. It's tortured me, thinking of you caught up in a swarm of monsters while I worked and fished and watched sport on TV."
"I'm one of the monsters now, Dad." Bella said with a sad smile.
"Never," Charlie responded emphatically. "I can see that you are still my Isabella and I will listen now. Please don't shut me out of whatever this is," he gestured to the wolves and me.
Bella's smile reached her eyes this time. "Thank you, Dad." After a moment, Bella reached for me and I stepped forward. "Dad, this is Garrett."
Without flinching, Charlie held out his hand to shake mine. I liked him immensely already. He had raised Bella and he knew what I was but still held my eyes with a warning glare that would make any father proud.
"Chief Swan, it's an honour to meet you," I said as I shook his hand carefully. "I love your daughter. I will always stand between her and danger. The only way I would allow any harm to befall her is if I am already dismantled and ablaze." I might as well get it out there straight away. Avoid any confusion. Make it clear to the wolves as well.
"The last boy that made similar promises broke her heart and left her to die," Charlie said grimly.
"I can't speak for him, only for me. I will never leave her," I vowed.
"You're a vampire? Like the Cullens? Like the redhead?" Charlie asked.
"Like Bella," I told him.
"I don't fully understand how that came to be," Charlie said with the clear implication that he expected answers.
Bella looked around at the wolves who were shifting their positions anxiously and distrustfully. "It's a very long story and everyone here has heard parts of it, made assumptions and judgements and come to their own conclusions. Sam's pack doesn't trust us and wants us to leave but we want to stay. Let's all talk and listen. Try and find balance and compromise."
"You don't agree Garrett," Charlie asked me and I realised I hadn't kept my expression bland enough as Bella spoke.
"I don't trust the wolves yet and it hurts Bella to be this close to you," I told him.
"Hurts her?" Charlie said, taking several steps away immediately and Bella glared at me.
"It's nothing, Dad. Worth it to be close to you again," Bella said gently.
"The wolves already tortured you with their little test Bella," I said quietly to Bella although I knew everyone in that clearing would be able to hear me, even Charlie. "We're all on edge. Spilling secrets into this volatile situation seems like a bad idea."
"I know you don't trust them Garrett, but I do. I know them and I trust them. They're good people. The only way to move forward is to dispel misconceptions and try and understand each other's motivations. It's better to do it now. When we are all together. Let's get it done."
"But you're in pain Bella," I said, wishing there was anything I could do to reduce her suffering.
"Always, you know that. So a few hours won't change anything and it's not so bad. The packs' scent diffuses the worst of it."
"Why is she in pain?" Sam asked.
I clamped my mouth shut as Bella insisted "I'm fine."
"Let's get it all out there. Like Bella said," Sam reasoned. "Try and understand each other. Tonight can be a truce. We will speak honestly with no repercussions and at the end of it all we can decide if a treaty is even possible."
"Tell us why being near Charlie hurts Bella," Jake insisted, impatiently.
"When a human awakes as a vampire, their throat is burning with thirst. It's agony and they can't think rationally because of it. The only thing that dulls the pain is blood and it's only a temporary relief. For around a year, it is almost impossible for most vampires to control their urges. By the time the desperate thirst starts to subside, they will have killed a lot of people and their human memories are dim and distant. That's why most vampires seem to you to be monsters. How could they live with themselves otherwise?" I explained.
"How come we aren't over run with rampaging vampires?" Sam pressed.
"Many reasons, but two main ones. Once a vampire starts feeding from a human, it is almost impossible for them to stop drinking until the human's heart stops beating. Most vampires can't do it. That means almost everyone bitten by a vampire is killed, not changed. There is also a ruling body of vampires who insist on hiding vampiric nature from humans. If a vampire turns someone then lets them rampage, both the sire and their created are hunted and killed and any witnesses are killed as well."
"Why didn't Bella rampage then?" Sam asked with suspicion, possibly deciding that we must've been lying about Bella never tasting human blood.
I sighed, hating having to justify our existence to these wolves who would probably never trust us, but willing to do it for the slimmest chance to give Bella back even the slightest echo of the relationships with them that she clearly treasured.
"Bella understood what she was when she woke," I replied. "That's rare in itself. She understood the thirst and fought against it. She chose to hunt animals instead of humans even at her youngest. The willpower it required is staggering. But it still hurts her, even though she resists."
"But it's possible to not hurt humans. Why don't more vampires do it?" Charlie sounded genuinely curious.
"It's the difference between drinking your favourite drink that quenches your thirst and alleviates the burning in your throat completely or drinking from a stagnant, muddy puddle which only dulls the thirst and pain a little." I told him.
"I don't want to cause you pain, Bella." Charlie said fiercely.
"It's not you, Dad. Garrett has been training me very hard so that I can be around humans safely. He knows it would destroy me if I accidently killed someone and he wants to protect me. Just before you arrived, the pack asked us to prove we were safe around humans. It's the test that hurt me and it's the reason Garrett is feeling especially protective at the moment."
"Most vampires would have failed that test," I stated grimly. "Very few can resist sudden flowing blood in such close proximity. Did that human fully understand the danger he was in? Did you want us to fail it so that you could have the excuse to kill us without dividing pack loyalty? Who could have argued with you for attacking a vampire that was trying to feed on one of your humans? Both Bella and I would die for the other. If you attacked either of us, the other would have fought. The human would have died or been turned. We'd have both died. Some of you would probably have died." I couldn't quite contain my fury as I threw these accusations at Sam.
"It was the only way! How else could we have tested you?" Sam seemed genuinely regretful. "If we told you what we were about to do it wouldn't have been a true test of your ability to resist. I have a responsibility to my people to keep them safe. It's been nearly impossible. No matter how many we destroy, the leeches just keep coming. I lost Brady. I lost Mikala. Jody and Mila. We lost you, Bella.
"Seb wasn't supposed to cut himself so deeply and I would've never even considered the test if I didn't trust Jake's judgement to some extent. The trouble is he has always had a blind spot when it comes to Bella. I wouldn't have even considered a meeting with you but I have to do everything in my power to protect my people. A civil war between the packs would've been a disaster beyond imagining. I thought it was the only way." I could see the weight of the burden he was carrying and my anger at him cooled.
"It's done now Garrett," Bella said gently, her empathy for Sam apparent. "We passed their test. No one died. Let's move forward."
"We could extend the treaty we had with the Cullens to include you," Sam suggested with lingering reluctance.
"No," I said emphatically. "I want no part of their coven or their treaty. It is not enough anyway. We need to be able to hunt Victoria freely. She must be stopped."
"There is no way in hell we would ever let you on our land," Sam growled, shaking off the last remnants of his remorse.
"We can agree to that but we need to find a way to work together to kill Victoria," I told him, more patiently than before. "She is more dangerous than you realise and her gift for avoiding danger makes her very difficult to catch."
"We are well aware of how dangerous she is," Sam retorted. "We have been fighting her for months while you were busy elsewhere."
"There is an even more pressing danger than Victoria herself," I explained. "If she attracts the attention of the Volturi then it is likely none of us would survive."
"What's a Volturi?" Jake asked.
"They are a very powerful coven of vampires. They have styled themselves as our ruling body." I would never recognise their authority over me but I didn't underestimate the power and influence they had either. "Their main directive is secrecy. From what you have told us, it seems like Victoria is changing many humans and then sending the new vampires at you. It's messy. Who knows what she is saying to the older vampires to get them to come here. Some will have ignored her and moved on, the ones that don't are disappearing in this area when the pack kills them. If this were happening in Europe, the Volturi would already be here. As it is, it is only a matter of time."
"Let them come. We'll kill them as well," Jacob said confidently.
"You have been fighting newborns, the curious and the ignorant," I told them. "The Volturi are ancient and powerful. Only those with the strongest abilities join them. You know that some vampires are gifted?"
"Like the mind reader?" Sam asked.
"Yes. Most Volturi vampires are that gifted and more so. Alec can steal you your senses. He takes your vision and your hearing. He can do it to many people at once. His sister can cause nerve searing pain with her mind. You would all be rendered unable to see or hear by Alec. Jane would torture you one by one and then most of you would be killed while one or two of you would be taken to Italy. One of the leaders there can read every thought you'd ever had just by touching your hand. They would then send a delegation to kill every wolf, man, woman or child who had any knowledge of vampires. They will burn your reservation to the ground."
"And what would they do to you and Bella?" Charlie asked anxiously.
"I really don't want to find out. I'd prefer that Bella and I never get on their radar." This was very true. While I made it my business to know as much as I could about the Volturi, I'd manged to avoid interacting with them. If Aro were ever to read me, he would see that I had no respect for their authority, that I thought they had no right to rule us. It seemed prudent to avoid him.
"Is what he is saying about the Volturi true, Bella?" Sam asked. He didn't trust me at all yet but maybe he still trusted Bella a little.
"I trust that Garrett wouldn't lie to you about this. I've heard of the Volturi. Edward mentioned them but he never discussed them in detail. It was obvious he thought they were very powerful," Bella replied thoughtfully.
"What is your proposal then?" Sam asked me reluctantly.
"You let Bella and I stay in Forks. We share knowledge and information and we learn to fight and hunt Victoria together. She won't have considered that we would do this. It is our best chance of stopping her. We will stay off your land. If any older vampires are sent here by Victoria, I will try to reason with them. Say that Victoria tricked them and has a vendetta against us. Try to get other nomads to ignore her."
"And if they can't be dissuaded…?"
"Then you can kill them, but we need to keep the number of vampires going missing near Forks as low as possible. Better still, we need to kill Victoria very quickly and stop them being sent here at all."
"I don't understand why she is so obsessed with Bella in the first place. I don't understand why the Cullens didn't ignore Bella like they did the rest of the town. I don't understand why Bella continued to associate with them once she found out what they were and how dangerous it was to be around them." Charlie had been getting more agitated as we spoke of the Volturi and Victoria.
"I thought I was in love with Edward, Dad. You knew that," Bella said sadly.
"You fell in love with him before you knew what he was?" Charlie asked.
"I was intrigued by them. I could tell there was something different about them. Edward had a very intense reaction to me when we first meet in school. I was actually terrified of him and then he left town that same day. It turned out my scent affected him much more than other humans. He struggled with control around me and that wasn't usually an issue for him."
"Making less sense now, not more," Charlie griped.
"He saved my life Dad. Literally saved it. Multiple times. He wanted to spend time with me, even though it caused him so much pain to be near me. He looked at me like I was so special. He told me he loved me and I believed him. I believed I was in love with him too. I think I was in a way." It hurt to hear Bella talk about Edward like this. I swallowed back my pain and jealously, determined not to upset Bella with my reaction. Bella sensed it though, despite my best efforts. She took my hand and spoke directly to me. "But now I truly know what it's like to love and be loved. To be in an equal and trusting relationship. What I felt for Edward is a birthday candle compared to the raging inferno I feel for you, Garrett." I wanted her so badly in the moment. I wanted her in my arms, underneath my, crying out my name. Showing her how much I adored her, how essential she was to me. Our bond pulsed and it hurt not to react to it.
"How exactly did he save your life?" Charlie demanded awkwardly, clearly trying to prevent himself seeing or hearing anymore about our relationship than he was ready to.
"You remember that time I was almost crushed by Tyler's van?" Bella asked and Charlie nodded. "Edward used inhuman speed and strength to stop it before it killed me. That was when I started to realise how truly different from us they all were."
"And the second time?" Charlie pressed.
"I went shopping with the girls in Port Angeles for dresses. I got bored and went off on my own but of course it's me so I got lost. I was cornered by this group of men. It was pretty bad, Dad. I was in serious trouble. If Edward hadn't showed up when he did…"
"Why didn't you say anything?" Charlie was outraged. "Bella, I'm the chief of police! I would've done something. Tracked those criminals down. Stopped them hurting anyone else. I would have done everything in my power to support and protect you."
"I was embarrassed Dad. And I don't think they would have been able to hurt anyone else."
"You think Edward tracked them down and killed them?" I asked her.
"If he did, they deserved it! I didn't ask though, didn't want to know. And I was trying to protect him, like he had protected me."
"And another time was when you ran off to Phoenix?" Charlie asked. I got the impression he was trying to reframe Bella's past within his new understanding of the supernatural. He wanted to understand exactly what she had been through.
"I'm so sorry about that Dad," Bella sounded desperate. "The things I said then…I didn't mean any of them. I was already in so much trouble. James was Victoria's mate. He was a tracker and a sadist. I was a human protected by a powerful coven of vampires and James saw it as a challenge he couldn't resist. He was already hunting me when I came back home that night. He was watching. I said those things to you so he wouldn't go after you too. Alice and Jasper tried to hide me while Edward, Emmett and Carlisle hunted James. Rosalie and Esme watched over you and my friends. It didn't work out so well. James tricked me and I fell for it. I thought he had Mom. I escaped from Jasper and Alice and ran straight into his trap. He was the one who hurt me in Phoenix and the Cullens saved me again and killed him for it."
"Oh Bella," Charlie's voice was filled with sorrow. "Will it hurt you if I come closer?" Bella shook her head and Charlie pulled her into his arms again. "I'm so sorry I didn't protect you. That you went through all that without my support. I can see it now. Why you cared about them. But why did they leave so suddenly?"
"There was an incident with Jasper on my birthday. I got a stupid paper cut. He lost control." Bella whispered.
"Over a paper cut?" Charlie asked in surprise.
"Garrett was not exaggerating about how intense the thirst is or the compulsion to quench it. That was another time that Edward saved my life."
"The last two times you described, you only needed saving because they put you in danger," Charlie said impatiently.
"But I wouldn't have survived the first two without him," Bella reasoned.
"Maybe if the van had hit you, you wouldn't have been killed," Charlie suggested. "Maybe you would have survived and been in hospital and not dress shopping in Port Angeles. Maybe Edward was always the problem."
"Maybe. But the very first time he saved by life was when he didn't kill me in Biology," Bella said.
"Absolutely does not count!" Jacob growled, loud and furious.
"Jasper almost killed Bella over a paper cut. Edward almost killed her despite our treaty because she smelled good to him. The Cullens were animal drinkers for years before they met you, Bella. Even though you passed our test, you were expecting something. How can we be sure you are safe?" Sam asked, more concerned than accusing.
"We'll never be completely safe but we will do everything possible not to hurt any humans," I replied.
"You said Bella has never killed a human but what about you Garrett? How many have you killed?" Sam asked quietly.
"Too many to count." Growls erupted from all the surrounding wolves and I had to raise my voice to be heard over them. "When I was new to this life I did unforgivable things because, like a lot of our kind, I had no control, conscience or guidance. That was a very long time ago. Until recently I hunted amongst the dregs of society. Criminals, drug dealers, addicts."
"That doesn't mean they deserved to die," Sam said angrily.
"Maybe not but I was putting them out of their misery," I justified. "You live your lives in your comfortable houses, surrounded by friends and family and do nothing about the poverty, slums and starvation around the world or even in your own country. You judge me by human standards which are hypocritical and don't hold up to scrutiny. But it's irrelevant now. I feed from animals because Bella shares your view of my previous diet and while I don't give a shit what any of you think, what she thinks of me is more important than any of the other considerations. I'm old. My thirst is under control. I have put a huge amount of time and effort into mastering my instincts even in the most challenging of circumstances. Bella's control is astounding and will only get better with time. It will have to be enough for you if you want to have any chance of killing Victoria and preventing a visit form the Volturi."
"You are sure they will come? Are they truly such a threat?" Jacob asked.
"I hope they won't come," I replied. "But if they do, you will surely all be killed. Charlie and any other humans that know about vampires will all be killed. By agreeing to this treaty with you, by allowing humans to survive with this knowledge, by agreeing to work with you, Bella and I are breaking the law. We are risking everything to protect you because Bella loves you all and considers you family. We could have left you all to it. If we hadn't come back here, when the Volturi eventually came, as well as killing all of you, they would have taken care of Victoria and we would have been blameless. Now it is very likely that we would be executed as well."
Sam watched me carefully, considering what I'd said.
"We agree to your terms. We will work with you to hunt Victoria so long as you stay out of the reservation. We will go over the boundary line on a map and then run it with you too so there can be no excuse for mistakes. Jake?"
"My pack also aggress to the terms," Jake said without hesitation.
"You can stay at the house, Bella," Charlie said. "I live on the reservation now. The house is empty. You can have it."
"I'll have to be careful not to be seen. Everyone thinks I'm dead. Maybe I could pretend to be a distant cousin or something?" Bella said thoughtfully.
"Actually, no one except me and the packs thought you were dead." Charlie told her.
"What?" Bella looked stunned.
"You've been emailing and writing letters since the day after you disappeared," Charlie explained.
"What?!" Bella demanded, astounded.
"I get letters from you at least once a week," Charlie went on. "They're in your handwriting. I thought they were from you until Victoria told me she killed you. Then when I looked back on them, I wasn't sure how I'd been fooled so easily. There were so many hints that it wasn't you. But I wanted desperately to believe you were okay and they are honestly an exact match of your handwriting. I had them analysed. Renee gets emails and occasional phone calls. She believes you're alive. I tried to tell her once Victoria told me you were dead but she was having none of it. She told me that she knew her own daughter too well for someone to fake contact. She was so furious. She threw me out."
"Who?" Bella asked.
"No idea," Jake cut in. "We knew they were fake. The letters didn't come to any of us. I knew you would have contacted me as well as your Dad and Mom. We'd tracked your scent to the cliff. We knew you'd gone into the water. We thought you'd drowned until Victoria told us she'd killed you. Then we thought she'd written the letters but when they didn't stop after the attack on Charlie when Brady died, we realised it couldn't have been her."
"It must have been Alice." Bella guessed.
"We thought one of the Cullens but could never figure out why," Jake said.
"To keep the secret?" I wondered. "If Bella disappeared soon after they did, it would look suspicious. They might've been investigated. I think they were trying to distance themselves."
"Maybe I can get into my emails at house and read what's been sent to Mom. Maybe that would give us an idea about why they were doing it. But it definitely suits us for now that no one thinks I died."
"There's still a lot to figure out," Sam said. "We need to find a way to fight safely side by side without accidently killing each other. To find the best way to commute and the most efficient way to hunt the redhead. Let's take the rest of the night to come to terms with everything we've talked about. To make sure we are still on the same page after we've processed it all."
"We can meet back here tomorrow night," Jacob suggested.
"What about if Victoria attacks before then?" Bella worried.
"Let us maintain our usual patrols for now," Sam said patiently. "If you hear the odd howl here or there, ignore it. If we all howl at once, then maybe come and find us, unless we are on the reservation."
"I'll run the boundary line with you now," Jacob said.
"We both will," Sam replied
"I'll meet you back at the house," Charlie said.
"You're not going there alone?" Bella demanded.
"I never go anywhere alone now Bella." Charlie said, resigned. "Hopefully that'll change soon."
AN: Reviews bring me joy and I'm so grateful for them. Please let me know what you think