Chapter 32

The pack is growing...

"By the way B…Eowyn?"

Yeah, I answer lazily in his arms. You can call me Bella, you know, I don't mind.

Are you sure ?

I'm sure I don't want to explain everything to people who hear Alice or you call me that...

Alice?

Who do you think has been my accomplice since the very first day in high school?

Wait… what? She knew your secret before everyone else?

No, you were the first, but she knew I knew about vampires before you even met me. I called her for help and I had very convincing arguments…

That's to say ? Edward asks, narrowing his eyes.

You... I told her what I meant to you...

I still can't understand why you came to meet me having seen all these obstacles and its dangers.

I knew there was a price worthy of the difficulties…

Do not tell me…

Alright, I won't tell you, I answer with a smile. I prefer to show it to you…"

I kiss her tenderly.

"Bella," he said reproachfully, "you put yourself in danger again by coming here..."

Not that much ! Who would challenge two werewolves and seven vampires? Ah no correction, there were people who followed us, but obviously they disappeared from our shadow before attacking us...

Are there so many people out there!? »

I see him sit up and look outside.

"I only see Alice and Jasper… How could I not notice them?!"

Maybe I distracted you a bit, I chuckle.

Maybe a little bit, he also said, smiling. Does Jasper...

I had to tell him everything too.

I'm surprised he decided to intervene in our relationship. Has Alice also demonstrated her powers of persuasion?

No, it's your stupid side that decided it! I saw you go to the Volturi to get killed when you thought I was dead…"

I see him breaking down… He knew that's what he would have done… I raise an eyebrow.

"You can't imagine what I've seen and felt in those few months… And speaking of which…"

I get out of bed and start getting dressed. Edward stands up too, worried.

" You go away ?!

For what ? Are you scared now? It was easier three months ago! I let go curtly. »

He takes the hit, but I feel guilty immediately. I'm unfair, he really wanted to protect me. I imagine that his departure hurt me more than I imagined. I walk over to him and gently stroke his cheek.

"I'm sorry, my love. I knew in advance that you were leaving for good reasons, but I felt like my heart was breaking when you announced your departure. I was angry with you for putting us through this, but that doesn't justify my words just now. Can you forgive me?

No Bella… I deserve it. In fact, I know it will take time to regain your trust and I am ready to wait for you as long as it takes...

Why don't you start by going hunting with Garett? He is waiting for you further. That's what I dress for.

And you ?

I will stay with Alice and Kate.

You mentioned two werewolves.

Jacob and Embry, they must be with the Amazons. They are our local guides… I specify, handing him his belongings.

You met Zafrina… he replies, pulling on his pants.

Yes… and no I don't see any of his illusions, I say answering his suspended question…

I suspected it a little… But Bella, even accompanied by Alice and Jasper, it was still risky to meet them. They don't have the same diet as us.

Dad suggested I use my new sister-in-law as a taser, just in case…Kate loved the idea. As for the Amazons, they are charming! And they are fascinated by shifters and their legends. There are stories of jaguar transformation in their tribe. They wonder if there would not be, suddenly, a semblance of truth.

Hmm… actually, after hearing about the Quileutes, it does seem like a possibility. »

We end up leaving the hostel. Alice cheerfully hugs her brother, Jasper gives him a manly hug, but I notice his sharp eye. Oh oh ! I know someone who is going to have a braces lift from his big brother! Kate and Garrett then join us and lead us to the rest of the group. Eventually Garrett and Jasper take Edward hunting and we meet at the hotel, while Jacob and Embry go running in wolf form with the Amazons. Obviously, the current passes well between them and I am delighted that they were able to meet in circumstances a little less dramatic than in the original story.

Despite Alice's protests, who wants to go shopping in Rio, we quickly return to Forks where a welcome committee worthy of a head of state awaits us. Edward is nervous, very nervous. The look he gives my father tells me everything I want to know, so I leave him alone. Tanya greets him with a smile and Edward smiles back. He's happy that she's stopped chasing him and has finally found her mate… We'll see if you'll smile as much when you hear her doing acrobatics with your stepfather, darling! I think I'm going to ask dad to sleep over at the Cullens' house three or four days a week instead of two...

Edward had made a point of apologizing to Charlie, who had simply replied that he was lucky that I had a good heart, while slipping a second wooden stake into my bag, which he had presented as my return gift. Then I confessed to my father that Edward came to my room every night to help me fall asleep. I didn't know you could change colors so quickly. I really thought Charlie was going to have a heart attack. I was grateful to Tanya for distracting him with a kiss that would make any witness jealous. I would have been myself if my father hadn't been one of the main actors in the scene… I even saw a dazed Edward swallow the flies while staring at them.

In the end, my father accepted my proposal to sleep three days with the Cullens, assuring me that Tanya and he would not show their affection if I was present… Of course, we are supposed to return the courtesy. He too seems to have decided that his daughter has no sexuality…

The days passed slowly. Rosalie and Emmett came back from Africa. After the shock of my father's integration into the supernatural balance of events, my presence was more tolerated by Rosalie, who took part in our girls' evenings, when I came to sleep at the villa. It was full during the day. Garrett and Kate lived in a small house belonging to Carlisle and Esme further in the forest when they wanted some peace, Edward and I slept in our chalet, but all these little people spent the rest of the time in the villa or at the house or at school, for Edward, Alice and me…

The return to high school was eventful. Edward and I were the number one gossip topic. Everyone had seen that I was not depressed during our separation. So it wasn't hard to make them believe that Edward had missed me so much that he had finally come back to me. So what was the problem, you're going to tell me?! The problem was our growing popularity… Embry had left the school on the reservation to join his imprint: Jessica, my best human friend. Jacob and Quil had naturally joined him. Quil had grown a lot in recent days and we suspected a near transformation.

At first the tribal elders were against Quil following his friends because of the risk of exposure, but Jacob being the true alpha of the pack, he would also have better control over Quil than Sam. that his transformation was inevitable, it was ultimately better to provoke it, by prolonging his exposure to Alice and Edward's scent earlier than to suffer it closer to the confrontation with the newborns.

The Wolves, Cullens, and Denali trained together regularly under Jasper's direction. I sometimes attended these training sessions, just like my father. If my interest was above all to get an eyeful seeing my man fight and win like a champion, my father was on the other hand very opposed to Tanya fighting. His protective side had come out a thousand times since he no longer had one, but two women in his life to protect. Tanya hoped to show him that she was capable of defending herself. For the moment, I would say that his demonstration irritated my father more than it convinced him.

However, he would have to make a decision soon. The death toll was rising in Seattle. My father brought us his police lighting every week and it was more than worrying. From memory, the kind of articles found in the newspapers were at least two months ahead of what was planned in the original story. The only time the danger was forgotten was Christmas.

If I thought I was ready to put up with everything with the shopping trips from hell that Alice had organized for me... Nothing could have exhausted me as much as seeing Alice preparing for the end of the year celebrations of the decoration of the house preparing Christmas presents and meals… Yes, my father and I initially had a Christmas meal designed just for the two of us. We stood together and managed to convince the Elders, the wolves, the Cullens and the Denali to wake up together. We ended up renting a venue in Forks.

The evening was one of the most pleasant and incredible of my life. When they weren't eating, the wolves took up the dares, each crazier than the other, that Emmett and Garrett threw at them. I had spent a lot of time with Emily, Rachel, Alice and Rosalie making up for lost time. Rosalie told us about her hunts with Emmett in Africa and Emily and Rachel told us several anecdotes about their respective wolf warriors.

I had convinced Edward to leave my side and go hang out with his friends and family. I know Carlisle and Esme in particular missed him very much. Jasper hadn't been the only one to have had a man's conversation with Edward. He had come home one evening with his head down and had spent his evening cuddling me without saying anything other than the fact that he had had a discussion with his parents... I had respected his choice to keep the silence. Whatever your age, getting angry with your parents is never something you want to expose.

We're in the cafeteria and I put my tray filled with baby carrots and broccolis next to Jessica. I ask him about the absence of his imprint:

"He left last night after getting a message from Jacob… I think Quil finally phased in.

Hopefully the boys can help him become human again soon.

We have more urgent girls! Alice says as she sits next to us.

What, Alice? I ask, fearing the worst.

Valentine's Day of course! »

I sighed, slightly reassured. Slightly, because I knew what that meant to Alice: Lots and lots of shopping…I had given all my energy to Christmas and was struggling to keep up with my demonic little elf a month later. This period had always been complicated for me, because it meant change.

By reflex I take between my fingers the heart-shaped pendant that Edward gave me. Unlike Bella, he didn't pass it off as a cubic zirconia or fake gemstone. His honesty touched me as much as his gift. I knew it was sentimental jewelry and had great meaning for him, so I freely showed my joy and appreciation to him. I saw him sigh in relief and his smile didn't disappear from his face for the whole of New Year's Eve.

For my part, I had opted for a handmade gift for almost everyone. I had made a leather macrame bracelet for Edward and all the men. I had woven dreamcatchers for women. Jessica had begged me, afterwards, to teach her so she could make one in Embry. My intensive training had allowed me to increase my Dexterity by 25 points. Reassuringly, for both me and Edward, I had stopped pricking my finger with the needle at the fourth dreamcatcher. Next goal, no longer hinder myself on my own feet in gymnastics.

One day, I notice that my gym bag is missing from my locker. I barely have time to close my locker, skeptical that Edward leads me into a broom closet.

"Edward, I tell him amused, you know, we have plenty of time tonight to have fun at the cabin…"

But he doesn't smile back at me, instead I see his glare staring at the wall behind me.

" That…

Vampire…"

I freeze. He resumed.

"A vampire opened your locker…"

I understand instantly.

"My gym bag...

He stole the stuff with your scent.

Edward...that means...

That the attack is near…"