10

Edward immediately put his arms behind him, caging Bella against him as everyone stared at her, a mix of horror, fear, and intrigue in their eyes. There were so many questions being thought: What's her power? What will she do? Why would the Volturi want her? Would she be a danger to them?

Just when Edward was feeling overwhelmed and on the verge of screaming at all of them to stop thinking so loudly, he felt Bella fist the back of his shirt, the sound of it ripping echoing inside his head. Her hand came to rest on the middle of his back, and the strangest sensation overcame him. Suddenly, he couldn't hear any thoughts. Suddenly, he felt peace and quiet, for the first time in a hundred years.

Edward closed his eyes. "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" Carlisle asked.

But Edward ignored him and turned to face Bella, grabbing her hand and placing it on the inside of his button up shirt. For the split second her hand wasn't on him, he could hear Carlisle's questions, see the flurry of images inside Alice's mind, and even feel the way Jasper was trying to calm everyone down, but when her hand touched him, it all stopped again.

"How are you doing it?" he asked, keeping one hand on top of hers while placing the other on the side of her face.

"Doing what?" she asked, her eyes locked on his.

"Blocking everyone out of my head," he said, his voice breaking at the end. "How are you doing it?"

"I'm not doing anything," she whispered, trying to pull her hand away, but he refused to let it go.

"Please don't," he murmured, his eyes closing. "Please, just for a minute longer."

Before he could enjoy the moment, though, Kate reached out and grabbed his shoulder. Where normally the tall, curvy woman with long, silky straight blond hair would have sent him to his knees in pain, when she grabbed him, he didn't feel anything.

"Nothing?" Kate asked, tightening her grip, like somehow that would make the pain come.

"No, nothing," Edward said, slowly grinning.

"Take your hand off him," Eleazar told Bella, who looked at Edward first before pulling her hand away.

"Ugh," Edward groaned, falling to his knees as waves of electricity flowed through his body. It wasn't the first time Kate had used her power on him, but he hadn't been prepared for it.

"You're hurting him!" Bella snarled, gripping Kate's hand, and throwing her across the room. She hit the wall with a thud, causing everyone to look from Kate to Bella with wide eyes. Even with newborn strength, most vampires couldn't just flick one across the room, especially with one hand. Bella took a couple steps backwards, her eyes widening as she looked down at Edward. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he said, standing up and reaching for her hand. She looked around before taking it. Where he'd hoped to find another moment of silence, he could hear the worries pouring from each of them.

"She's a shield," Eleazar said, drawing everyone's attention back to him.

"A shield?" Rosalie asked, raising an eyebrow. "A real shield?"

Eleazar nodded, tilting his head to the side as he stared at Bella, and it took all of Edward's control not to rip his head off. But why was he feeling so protective of her? Eleazar and Carmen had been mates for almost two hundred years. He would never look at another woman.

"You can't read her mind, can you?" Eleazar asked, and Edward shook his head. He turned to Jasper. "And you? Can you feel her emotions? Affect hers?"

Jasper shifted his eyes from him to Bella before saying, "No, and I couldn't when she was human, either. It was . . . odd."

Eleazar smiled and looked at Alice. "And you, dear? Can you see her?"

Alice pressed her lips together before she shook her head. "I can only see her when one of the others makes a decision about her. Such as when Carlisle decided to change her, or when Edward resolved to helping her. But I . . . I don't see her specifically."

"It's her shield." Eleazar turned back to Edward and Bella, his eyes flickering down to their joined hands. "But that's not all. No, there's more power inside of her. I just don't know what it is because she's shielding me."

"I'm sorry, but what's a shield?" Bella asked, her eyes flickering between everyone. "And who are you?"

Edward sighed, slipping his other arm around her. Reluctantly, he pulled his hand out of hers, and gestured toward the Denali Clan. "That's Eleazar and his wife Carmen. Kate is the woman you tossed across the room with ease, I might add."

Kate scoffed, folding her arms in front of her.

"These are her sisters, Tanya," Edward said, gesturing to the oldest of the three woman. She had long strawberry blond hair. The woman next to her had almost silver-blond hair. "And Irina. Like us, they choose to live a vegetarian lifestyle. They're our family, Bella. The only other vampires that live their lives the way we do, that we know of at least."

"Oh."

"It's lovely to meet you, Bella," Tanya said, her eyes flickering from her to Edward.

"Yeah, you too," she murmured, shifting so that she was leaning closer to Edward, who tightened his arm around her. "Not to be a bitch," she said, causing everyone to focus their attention on her, "but what why are you staring at me like I am going to end the world?"

"I apologize." Eleazar put his hands up. "I shouldn't have reacted to you like that. I, um, just haven't met anyone I couldn't sense, and it scared me, I suppose."

"What do you mean sense?" she asked.

"You know how I told you that some of us awoke with gifts?" Edward asked, and he could feel everyone looking between them as she nodded. "Eleazar awoke with the ability to sense people's powers, their gifts, but he can't sense yours. I'm guessing because of your shield."

"My shield?" she asked, looking from him to Edward.

Edward nodded. "It's why I can't read your thoughts, or why Jasper can't feel your emotions. Apparently Alice can't see your future."

Bella shifted her eyes between each of them. "Because of Fred?"

"Fred?" Eleazar asked, while Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, Alice, and Emmett laughed. Rosalie merely rolled her eyes. "Who is Fred?"

"Fred is what she named her tumor," Carlisle explained, gesturing toward his temple. He shifted toward Bella. "And no, I don't believe Fred has anything to do with you being a shield. It's just a gift, something you had when you were still human, too."

"But what's her other power?" Esme asked, placing her hand on Carlisle's shoulder.

"I don't know," Eleazar said with a frown. "But we'll find out, and hopefully, keep her off the Volturi radar. If her power is as big as it feels, it won't take long for them to get a sense of her themselves."

—Stay—

Bella felt . . . frustrated and anxious and the way they stared at her, like they were waiting for her to fly or shoot fireballs out of her ass didn't help. She heard herself asking, "Who are the Volturi?"

"Um," Edward paused, and looked around. "The Volturi are vampire royalty, I suppose you could say. They . . . they govern us, to a point. We have to be careful not to draw the attention of humans, for the sake of secrecy."

Bella frowned. "I'm not human anymore, right? So why would it be an issue if they found out about me?"

"Because the Volturi like to collect those with power," Emmett said, drawing everyone's attention toward him. "The Volturi are made up of three brothers: Aro, Caius, and Marcus. They have a guard, Bella, which is made up of vampires who each possess gifts of their own. Jane for example can afflict pain with just her mind."

"Alec can envelope a person in complete darkness, leaving them blind and vulnerable," Rosalie added, scooting closer to Emmett. "They've been after Alice for decades," she added, shifting her eyes to the tiny vampire. "One could only imagine what they would do to get a real shield. Especially if you could protect them from the outside, like you can Edward apparently."

At Rosalie's words, everyone shifted their eyes back to Bella. It was in that moment she wondered if she had made a mistake by agreeing to be changed. This was supposed to be her chance to live — really live — but she hadn't been prepared for gifts and power and vampire royalty.

"Look, let's not make this a bigger issue than it has to be," Carlisle said, putting his hands up. "So she has power. Not like she's the first vampire to possess a gift that we can't explain from the start. Besides, the Volturi aren't here, they aren't aware that we've changed you, Bella. Not like there's a registry, or anything."

He said it in a teasing manner, and she knew he was just trying to lighten the mood, but Bella couldn't shake the feeling that there was something she was missing.

"How was your first hunt?" he asked.

"Good. Had caribou. It was tasty," she replied and then shook her head. "I can't believe I just said I had caribou, like it's the most normal food it the world."

"This life can take some getting used to," Carlisle said, nodding. "How do you feel? Any lingering . . . sensations from before your change?"

"No," she admitted. "I keep expecting the pain the hit," she added, smiling weakly. "I feel different, but not different, either. I don't know if I'm making sense right now."

An awkward silence filled the room, and Bella knew they were on edge because of her. It wasn't new for her. Even as a child, she'd been socially awkward and weird. And then her head started to hurt and she was the girl with a brain tumor. Too sick, too fragile, too delicate. The girl who was dying.

"Can I call my parents?" she whispered, shifting her eyes to Edward. "I need them to know I'm good now. They'll worry, and I don't want them to."

Edward nodded and tightened his arm around her, before leading her out of the living room and back down to the room she'd been changed in. She sat on the side of the bed and took his phone from him.

"I'll give you a few minutes alone."

"Don't leave," she insisted. "Please, don't leave me alone."

Edward nodded and walked over to the bed, sitting stiffly next to her. She dialed her father's number and placed the call on speaker, shifting her eyes to Edward as it rang once, twice, and a third time before there was a click and an uncomfortable, "Hello?"

"Hi," she murmured, pulling her knees up and placing the phone on top.

"Hi," Charlie whispered. "Oh, my God, you sound . . . you sound like you again, only stronger."

She laughed. "I feel better. No more blinding pain." She paused. "I miss you, though."

"We miss you, too," he confessed, and she could picture him grabbing the back of his neck. "You're good, though, right? I mean, you're healthy, and . . . you know alive?"

"I am," she said. "Is Mom there?"

"No, she, um, went to get boxes."

"Why do you need boxes?"

He inhaled a sharp breath before saying, "I'm leaving Forks, honey. I'm going back to Phoenix with . . . with Mom."

"You are?" she asked. "I thought you hated Phoenix."

"I do," he admitted. "But we can't stay here, and I don't want to be away from her again."

"Why can't you stay in Forks?"

Charlie took another breath. "We're not welcome here anymore."

Next to her, she felt Edward tense and she understood. "Let me guess: the Quileutes aren't happy that you let Edward change me, that they broke the treaty to save me."

"Something like that," he admitted. "We've been called traitors to the human race. It's fine, though. Hearing you sound so strong and healthy made it totally worth it."

She smiled. "So you're going to Phoenix with Mom. Does that mean what I think it means?"

Charlie laughed. "It does. Mom and I . . . You know, I never stopped loving her. That was never our problem. I just let my pride get in my way. I'm not making that mistake again, honey. I just . . . I can't live without her anymore, and if that means I live in the heat and sun, it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

"I'm glad," she murmured. "At . . . at least you have each other, right?"

Charlie hummed. "It's really good to hear your voice, Bella."

"Well, Edward says while I can't see you for a while, at least we can talk on the phone. Maybe text or email. I don't know."

"I'll take anything I can get," he whimpered.

"Tell Mom I'll call back later, okay? Promise?"

"I promise. I love you, kiddo."

"I love you, too, Daddy."

Bella ended the call and held the phone back to Edward, who pushed it back toward her.

"Keep it," he said. "That way they already have the number. I can get a new one."

She nodded and placed it on the bed next to her. "They've given up everything for me, so I'd live."

"Because they knew you're special." Edward shifted on the bed so that he was facing her. "How'd you do it?"

"Do what?"

He pointed toward his head. "Get them out of my head. How'd you do it?"

"I don't know. I just . . ." Bella lifted her hand to his face, causing his eyes close. "They were staring at me, gawking at me like I was . . . I was a freak, and I needed to be closer to you. You make me feel . . . you make me calm, I guess."

"You make me feel calm, too," he admitted.

"Should I be worried, Edward? About the Quileutes? About the Volturi? About never fitting in with your family? Should I worry?"

Edward leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers, his hands moving to the sides of her face. "I won't lie to you, Bella. The Quileutes, The Volturi, they're a threat to you, to us, but my family — our family if you want them to be — care about you. I care about you, and as long as you want me, I'm here. In any way you want."

"In any way?" she asked, her eyes shifting to his lips.

"In every way."

But instead of kissing her, Edward leaned away, stood up, and walked out of the room, leaving her sitting on the bed completely alone. What the hell had just happened?

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