27

"Why didn't you tell her?"

The moment Carlisle ended the call with Edward and Bella, the tall, dark, and annoying vampire, whose eyes were blood red, behind him asked the one question he didn't have a good answer for. Shifting his eyes from Esme to Emmett and Rosalie, Carlisle turned and faced Alistair. He and Carlisle had met in the early seventeen hundred. Alistair was a quiet man, who kept mostly to himself. He feared the Volturi, the power they held over Vampire-kind, and if push came to shove, he wouldn't fight with them. But he was an expert tracker, and Carlisle knew he'd felt a pull numerous times over the last seven hundred years since his change. Perhaps, just perhaps, Alistair could help them find the truth about Bella Swan.

"Because I don't want to scare her more than she already is."

The man laughed, tilting his head to the side. "Oh, you care for her, don't you?"

"She's our family," Esme answered, placing her hand on Carlisle's arm, her own way of reminding him that they were in this together. "And we take care of our family. Something you should know."

He nodded. "I do. Still, she deserves to know, if she's so important to you."

"And we will tell her," Rosalie said, ignoring the way Emmett reached for her as she stepped toward him. "As soon as we're sure you're not full of shit."

"I'm not."

"Yeah, well, sorry if we don't believe you, but we don't believe you," Emmett quipped, gripping Rosalie around the waist and hoisting her backward, which just caused him to laugh. "Keep it up, and I'll rip your arms off and beat you to death with them."

Alistair laughed and put his hands up in front of him. "No need to get violent. I'm here to help."

"Have you gotten a fix on them yet?" Carlisle asked, trying not to let his irritation show.

"Yes," he said. "North, northwest. Into Peru, toward the Cotopaxi Volcano. I've heard some rumblings of some sacred artifacts that are being protected. Though, it's just been rumor, but maybe there's truth to it after all."

"Can you take us?" Esme asked. "Sorry, not can you. Will you take us?"

Alistair sighed, placing his hands on his hips. "The Volturi will find out about your girl, especially if you go traipsing all over the Amazon in search of their legend. You say Aro changed a Shaman in order for him to translate these so called writings you're looking for? What makes you think that Shaman isn't still on the Volturi payroll, so to speak?"

"It's a risk we are willing to take," Carlisle said, sharing a look with Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie, all of whom nodded their agreement. "As they've said, she's our family, and we will fight for her. She's . . . It hasn't been easy for her."

"It wasn't easy for any of us," Alistair quipped, folding his arms in front of him.

"Yes, well, you weren't changed and told you were going to end the world almost the second you woke up, were you?" Rosalie groused. "That girl has power, we can all feel it. Hell, she can feel it, and it scares the shit out of all of us, but especially her. All she wants is to live, to love, to be happy, Alistair. She's different, unique, special, and a thousand other adjectives I could use to describe her."

Alistair tilted his head to the side. "You are rooting for her? You, Rosalie, actually like this girl?"

"Yes," she admitted. "I do. When Carlisle first told us his plans to change her, I will be the first to admit that I did not want him to do it. I thought it was stupid and careless," she added, ignoring the way Emmett scoffed. "But then they brought her to the house and I saw her for myself. I've seen people die, but I've never seen someone on the verge of death with fire in their eyes. I could smell death on her, but she smiled and . . . her soul is pure and innocent, and she doesn't deserve to be hunted down just because she has power."

Before Alistair could respond, the door to their hotel room opened and Garrett and Kate hurried inside, letting the thick wooden door close with a loud thud behind them. They stopped and looked between each and every one of them before Kate spoke.

"We talked to a few locals. They said the men in cloaks have been hanging round the city for last month. Around the same time Bella was changed, actually."

"According to them, the night Edward changed her, there was smoke coming from the north, northwest," Garrett added, placing his hand on Kate's back.

"Same direction as the Cotopaxi Volcano," Esme murmured. "Looks like we're on the right track, but who are these men in cloaks? Are they the Volturi?"

"I don't think so," Kate said, shaking her head. "They feel . . . they feel ancient."

"The Volturi are ancient," Alistair quipped.

"No shit, dickhead," Garrett scoffed, sliding his arm around Kate's waist. "But the Volturi don't hide the way these . . . creatures are. They would make their presence known, even humans are too stupid to recognize them. Whoever is in the cloaks, they're different, ancient like Kate said."

Carlisle grabbed the back of his neck. "What the Hell have we gotten ourselves into?"

Of course nobody replied. What were they supposed to say? They hadn't dealt with anything like this before. This was new territory, new ground, and that's what scared him the most. The Volturi? They would be easy compared to stopping Bella if it turned out the writings were correct. If she couldn't learn to control the power she supposedly possessed, she might really end the world, and them in the process.

"As I told Bella, we're going to lay low for a few days before we head out, see if we can get a reading on who is in the cloaks. If we're lucky, maybe they'll come to us," Carlisle said, dropping his hands to his hips.

"Zafrina should be here in five days," Garrett added, drawing everyone's attention to him. "That means we have from now until then to figure out who these cloaked motherfucker are, and what they want."

The heaviness of the situation resonated with each and every one of them, Carlisle knew. And while the writings scared him, the chance that there was more to Bella Swan than they had known when they made the choice to change her, he didn't regret that decision. How could he when she made Edward happy? They would fight for her, fight for them to have a lifetime together, no matter the cost.

—Stay—

Edward didn't trust Jacob Black. The man had cost his father his life because instead of leading him directly there, he'd taken him the long way, giving . . . whoever, whatever . . . attacked them the chance to the upper hand, so to speak. They had copies of part of the writings, while Edward, Bella, and Jacob were still in the dark, so to speak. And that worried him. Jacob Black claimed to be on their side, but could they really trust him? Could they trust anyone at this point?

"We need to take cover," Edward said, reaching across the front seat and taking Bella's hand in his.

"Why?" Jacob asked, causing both of them to look back at him. He was stretched out in the backseat, his long legs bent up in front of him, his eyes closed.

They had just pulled up Pike's Peak, to a little amusement park that was called Santa's Workshop in Colorado Springs. Their plan had been to park the SUV and travel into the Cheyenne Mountains on foot until they found the cave at Boehmer Creek Billy had told them about, but seeing as it was almost noon and the sun was shining brightly, which meant all the little boys and girls visiting Santa with their moms and dads would see them sparkling, they would have to wait, which is what Bella told Jacob.

"Oh," was all he said. "Would she sparkle, too?"

Bella shifted her eyes to Edward, who made a gagging face before she nodded and looked back at Jacob. "Yes."

Jacob smiled. "Bet that makes her even more beautiful."

"Probably." Bella turned back around. "We should wait until nightfall. We can find a hotel, leave the car there, and head out on foot once the sun goes down."

"That's a good idea."

"Can we get some food?" Jacob asked, shifting in his seat and sitting up. "I know you two don't have to eat, but I am still human. Partly, at least, and I need to eat."

"Sure, Jake." Bella placed her hand on Edward's thigh. "It's the least we can do."

Though Edward didn't much care if Jacob Black ate, he nodded and pulled away from the amusement park and headed back down the mountain. They stopped outside a little fast food restaurant named Cy's Drive-in. Seeing as Jacob didn't have any money, Edward reluctantly handed him his credit card and watched as he hurried out of the SUV and over to the window and put in his order.

"Do you really think he loves her?" he asked, shifting his eyes to Bella. "Tanya, I mean."

"I do," she replied, nodding. "I mean, it's gross, right? He really stinks, but the way they look at each other, I don't think he could fake that. And she feels it, too. I can tell."

"She deserves to be happy," Edward murmured, wrapping his fingers around the steering wheel. "They've been isolated from people for a long time."

"Why?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "They said it was easier, not to integrate themselves into society, the way we do," he added, throwing her a cocky smile. "I think they were scared the Volturi would find Kate, take her away. They've lost a lot because of the Volturi."

"Like what?"

Edward frowned.

"The Volturi killed their mother, the woman who changed them. Sasha was one of the oldest vampires we know of. She was changed in pre-1000 AD. She changed Tanya, Irina, Kate, and a little boy named Vasilii not long after she was changed. Vasilii, though, was a child, no more than six years old. The Volturi outlawed the changing of children due to the . . . Well, the temper tantrums they would throw due to their young maturity. They'd slaughter entire villages when they didn't get their way. When the Volturi got wind of Vasilii, they killed him, and Sasha for creating him. Kate's power hadn't grown to what it is now, so they hadn't gotten wind of it, thankfully, but they laid low for a long time, hiding out I think. When Eleazar and Carmen came to them, he pushed even more for them to stay hidden, to keep out of the Volturi's sight even more. I think they let fear keep them from living."

"Suppose I get that," Bella murmured. "I don't even know these Volturi assholes, and I wonder if it would just be better to hide away for the next century, see if they forget about me. If I am this person they've been searching for."

"It's tempting, but it's no way to live, sweetheart," Edward said, reaching over and threading his fingers in with hers. "We're going to get through . . . whatever is going on, and then, we're going to live every moment of every day together."

Bella smiled. "You want forever with me?"

"I do," he said. "I want everything with you, Bella."

"Like marriage and . . . everything that comes with marriage?"

Edward's eyes widened. "I very much want . . . marriage and everything that comes with it."

"Oh," she breathed slowly as she peeked over at Jacob, who was still waiting for his food. "Have you . . . you know . . . had sex before?"

"No."

She snapped her eyes back to him. "Never?"

Edward shook his head. "Sex was something I was raised to believe should only be with the person you love more than anything in the world, the person you were going to spend the rest of your life with. And there's never been anyone in my life, before or after my change, that I wanted to have that with before. Not until I saw you standing in the rain," he said with a laugh. "You changed my life, Bella, and I can't wait to spend the next thousand years by your side."

"If I were human, I'd probably be crying," she murmured, leaning over and placing her hand on the side of his face, feeling her shoulders tense and her eyes roll backward as she lifted her shield. I love you. I love you with everything I am.

"I love you, too, sweetheart."

Edward leaned toward her, but before his lips could touch hers, he groaned and leaned away just moments before the backdoor of the SUV opened and Jacob Black climbed in with five bags of food. He tossed Edward's card over to him before digging into the first bag, unwrapping a double meat cheeseburger. However, as he brought it up to his mouth, he paused and looked from Edward to Bella, both of whom were just staring at him.

"What?"

"You're going to eat all that?" she asked, gesturing to all the bags.

"Yeah," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm hungry."

"That's enough food to feed a large family, Jake," Bella teased, shaking her head. "It smells disgusting."

"That would just be Jacob," Edward quipped, tucking his credit card back into his wallet before he started the SUV. "Crack the window, man. Get the stink out of here."

Jacob muttered under his breath that he wasn't the one who stunk, but reached over and cracked the window a couple inches, pulling the wet dog smell away from him and Bella. While Jacob scarfed down more food than Bella had ever watched someone stuff into their mouth, Edward drove them through Colorado Springs, stopping at a small, rundown motel in Manitou Springs, a small sub-division at the base of Pikes Peak. He was able to park where he wasn't in direct sunlight as he climbed out and headed inside to get them a room.

"He's good for you."

Bella cocked an eyebrow as she turned and looked at Jacob, who was shoving French fries into his mouth. "Yeah?"

Jacob nodded, swallowing the food in his mouth before saying, "You didn't smile like you do with him. Before you got sick, I mean. You didn't smile like this with us. He makes you happy."

"He does," she admitted. "I know you don't understand why I said yes, but I wasn't . . . I didn't want to die, Jake."

"We didn't want you to die, either," he confessed. "I didn't understand how you felt, how scared you must of have been at the end."

She nodded. "I was terrified. Every day got harder and harder and the pain . . . Nobody should have to feel the kind of pain that I dealt with for so long. When my mom and dad asked me to let them change me, I almost said no."

"Why?"

"Because we weren't going to be together," she admitted. "But I looked in their eyes, and I saw how important it was to them that I say yes, that I live. So I did, and I don't regret it."

"No? Not even with everything we're dealing with?"

Bella shook her head. "Not even with everyone convinced that I'm going to end all of humanity. I know who I am, and I refuse to be the person you think I am. I'm not anymore a monster than you are, Jake."

Edward walked out of the office and over to them, climbing in behind the wheel. "Managed to get us a room on the backside, figured it would give us a little more privacy. Booked it for a few days, just in case, you know?"

"Good idea," Bella said, smiling.

Edward drove them around to the backside of the motel. As they climbed out, Bella found herself looking around, unable to shake the feeling that they were being watched. However, she didn't see anyone, or smell them, but again, Jacob's odor tended to take over all other scents.

"You okay?" Edward asked, sliding his arm around her waist.

Bella nodded. "Yeah, just . . . being silly, I guess. Let's get inside before the trees shift and anyone sees us."

Jacob followed Bella and Edward up the back staircase, down to their room. Edward opened the door, waving Bella in first, and then Jacob, who hurried over and threw himself onto one of the two full size beds. Edward stepped inside and closed the door. Bella walked into the small bathroom and pulled her phone out of her pocket, checking for a message from Charlie or Renee, finding a picture of them sitting on the front porch of the house in Denali.

"Hey, everyone okay?" Edward asked.

But before Bella could assure him that, for now, everyone seemed to be okay, someone knocked on the door. They stepped out of the bathroom at the same moment Jacob climbed off the bed, shifting his eyes back to them as he crossed the small, dank motel room and gripped the doorknob. As he pulled the door opened, taking a step backward, two beings stood in the doorway, dark cloaks pulled over their faces.

They turned toward each other before taking a step into the room, reaching up slowly, almost like the movement hurt, and pushed the dark hoods over their heads, tilting their heads backward, and Bella heard herself gasping. The two beings in front of her appeared human, only they were very pale, their skin almost translucent, like they had spent the last several years in the dark, but it was their eyes that surprised her the most. Their eyes were glowing — glowing bright red.

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