Chapter 26: A place to rest
Bella turned over and yawned. A breeze and the smell of salt water filled her nose.
Where was she?
She was laying on something soft and was it the ocean she was hearing?
When she opened her eyes, she was greeted with the sight of a beautiful room.
The walls were tan and a nice breeze was blowing from the balcony. On the walls were various paintings of tigers.
To her Surprise in an elegant photograph was a picture of Paul. His hair was down and he was in an elegant robe. The picture was very serious.
Bella allowed herself to stand a wave of dizziness and nausea hitting her.
She groaned as she stretched her tight muscles.
Was there a bathroom in this place? How did she even get here anyway? The last thing she remembered was Rachel helping her out of the bath and into a bed. From there everything was fuzzy..as she wandered around the room, she found a door and when she opened it she was grateful to see a bathroom it was huge and made out of marble.
After she finished in the bathroom, she walked out onto the balcony and gasped
The ocean was right in front of her and to her shock the sand was pink. But that wasn't the only thing. On the sand kicking playing soccer was the whole pack. Every last one of them. Some of Paul's family members were intermingled with them.
It was then she spotted her son. His hair was brushed back, and he looked so healthy. He was grinning ear to ear and laughing.
Bella put her hand over her heart as she looked at her son.
She had never seen him so happy.
Not wanting to be seen quite yet, Bella backed away. And sat on the bed Exhaustion hit her like a truck but at the same time, her stomach grumbled.
She didn't get a chance to think about her next move when a knock sounded on her door.
"come in."
The door opened to reveal her husband. He was wearing a purple silk robe.
"babe!" she greeted as she rushed to stand up.
However, the dizziness was back and came crashing into her.
Paul was quick to catch her before she fell.
"you have to take it slow kitten." He told her as he put her back in bed.
"thanks. Now where are we? What happened? I fell asleep after a bath and now we're here? Why is the whole pack here? Who is guarding la push?"
Paul put his hands on her shoulders and calmed her down.
"breathe kitten. Why don't we get you something to eat and then we can talk?" he questioned.
Bella shook her head.
"no. I want to talk first. "
"fine. So stubborn." Paul complained.
"you've been in a coma for three weeks. The family doctor said there was so much trauma on your body, that your brain shut down, so you could rest without outside interference. We had you hooked up to an IV for most of the time but a few days ago, tiger and Wolf said it was time to take you off of it. we felt that you would wake up soon. and with the baby, we needed to be "
"baby? What baby? Is Lila ok? I saw Brady outside but where's Lila?"Bella interrupted him as concern for her children ran through her.
Paul looked at her sadly.
"the doctor said that this might happen but I didn't want to believe him. Kitten have you looked in the mirror?" he questioned
"no why?"
Paul helped her stand and took her back into the bathroom. He turned her to face the mirror and she gasped.
Poking through her robe was a small bump.
Bella caressed it and looked at Paul in shock.
"Are we.." she let her question die too afraid to ask what she already knew.
Paul's eyes filled with tears as he laid a hand on her stomach.
"yeah, we are kitten. Now we can add a third cub to our pack. were only one month but yeah were pregnant. "
Bella didn't have any words, all she could do was bury her face in his chest.
After a moment, she looked up at him. So many questions in her eyes.
"what happened before I fell asleep? The last thing I can remember is lying on the ground while Demetri crawled for help.."
She shivered at the thought of the vampire male. But it was the thought of a vampire, that had Bella crescendo into a flashback.
Cold hands were touching her, teeth biting into her skin, her back flayed open.
A scream released itself from her lips.
Hot hands brought Bella away from the cold.
"ssh, baby. Im here. I'm here. No one can harm you here. You are safe." Paul assured her calmly, as he brought her into a hug. Bella flinched and pushed him away.
"no vampires. No vampires. No vampires…" she began to mumble.
This time Paul made slow and calm movements toward her.
"Isabella, you are safe here. No one here will hurt you. I am right here kitten."
Bella shook her head.
"no more vampires paul.." she cried.
"no more vampires baby. I promise."
After giving her a moment to calm herself, Bella apologized. Well, at least she tried but Paul wasn't hearing it.
"no. don't you dare apologize. You have nothing to apologize for. you have been through a trauma and you are recovering. Be patient with yourself."
Bella wiped the tears from her eyes and leaned into her husband. She had to remind herself that he would never harm her.
"I can't believe we're really having a baby. Jesus gave us a miracle. Where are we anyway?"
" The lord has really given us a miracle. You have no idea how thankful I am for you and our children. I haven't told Brady yet, he's dying to see you. do you know how excited he'll be?" Paul asked her as he led her back to the balcony.
Bella leaned into him as they observed the pack play on the beach.
"he's going to be over the moon. Now for the millionth time where are we?" Bella asked with a tad of impatience.
Paul chuckled and pressed his nose into her neck, taking a deep breath.
"We are in Jamaica. Tigers island. It's where the Ferguson family compound resides. We have corporations all over the world but this island is where the whole family lives when we are not busy. We, you and I, we need a break. A break from the supernatural. I know we can't deny who we truly are, but we are here to rest. We just need to rest. The pack's going to stay for a few more days but our family is going to stay here for a while. We need it."
Bella looked back out on the horizon, where the ocean and sand met. It was beautiful.
"I would like that a lot. Where are mom and dad?" she questioned.
"Charlie had to stay in Forks for a little while to handle some things at work. He will be here next week. Sue will be with him."
"and the pack? any injuries during the battle?"
Paul shook his head.
"Everyone was unharmed. I invited them to come here and relax as well. A couple of our cousins agreed to watch La Push for us for a while. No one was hurt, I promise."
Except for me, Bella thought. Guilt filled her heart.
As if he knew what she was thinking, Paul pulled her close and growled.
"stop it. you have nothing to be guilty of. Do you know how proud we are of you? not only did you manage to keep the Volturi's high-ranking guard alive but you took out our main enemy. You have nothing to feel guilty about. The only thing I want you to do is rest and be healthy so our cub can thrive. Now can I please get you something to eat? I'll answer any other questions you have."
Bella agreed and the couple left the balcony and into the hallway.
…
"good afternoon my king. My queen." A woman with long white hair bowed as she and Paul walked through the hallway. She wore what looked like orange and black armor with a golden spear.
Paul bowed back and patted the woman's shoulder in affection.
Bella looked on in confusion.
"something you want to tell me? don't think I haven't noticed the extravagant robes and the picture on the wall. What's going on Your Majesty?" Bella questioned.
Paul sighed.
"I was hoping you wouldn't notice that. but it was dumb of me. you're always so observant. Let's sit first and I'll talk."
He continued to lead them down the hall, and out a door. They came upon a gazebo that was hidden in a small alcove. Waiting for them on a table was a meat stew with garlic bread and juice.
Once she was sat down, Paul began to talk.
"Before we got on the plane to rescue you, my father made a decision. He wanted me at full strength and full capacity. With everything we had been through, he thought the time was right."
Paul paused as she looked out into the distance. He then looked back at her and said "My father was the leader of our family. To the human world, we are the Ferguson Corporation. We are investors, architects, surgeons, and fashion designers. But to the supernatural world, we are the tiger clan. A family of tiger shifters, who are known to kill vampires that come into their territory. My father, passed on the title of leader to me the night we were supposed to leave to find you. the problem was, that Julian Junior challenged me for the position. It was his right of course, but he lost. All It took was one punch. I knocked him out and it was over. Junior is an excellent fighter but I was too pissed off to care. My focus was only on you. so here I am, king of the tiger shifters. "
"King… of the tiger shifters?" Bella questioned.
"yep. And that makes you the queen."
Bella blinked rapidly.
"This is really hard to wrap my mind around. What do they expect you or us to do?"
"protect the family, lead them. We have monthly meetings, and weekly ones if it's necessary. The whole family has one bank account and it is tracked by the family accountant. We believe in generational wealth, so no one not ever has money. There are some people who are not happy and tried to fight my reign to the throne but it fell on deaf ears."
"why fight you on it?" Bella questioned
" Julian is my father and a full-blooded Ferguson. My mother however is a lahote. By technicality, I'm a bastard. But in our family, the king has the final say. we have a council to seek wisdom but my word, our word is law."
"ok, so what do we do now?"
Paul laughed. " you have always been good with weird. And right nothing. I just want you to rest and enjoy the beach. Enjoy the freedom you have. Just carrying our cub and relax."
Bella didn't get to say anything else because a voice interrupted her.
"Mom!"
She turned, and coming through the bushes was Brady. In his arms was Lila.
"Mom! Your o-ok.."
Without warning, Brady was in her arms.
Bella froze before she relaxed herself and threw her arms around him.
"yeah, im ok honey. We all gonna be okay."