Alternative Eclipse
~Chapter LIV~
The morning light broke through the night, and it was only until I had stepped away from my husband to shower did I realize that soon my parents would be awake. It was easy for me to float with Edward and forget about everything going on around us, just encased in our little bubble that was our cottage. But I knew that we couldn't hide here forever. We had to return to our reality.
"Bella," I glanced up at Edward when he had pulled the robe around my naked body. We had just finished taking a peaceful yet quiet shower with one another. He brushed my wet hair away from my face to gaze down at me thoughtfully. "I know everything seems so daunting right now but we'll get through it. I'm here for you and I'll be there to help with your parents." he murmured, and I nodded my head in appreciation.
"I know, and I appreciate it my sweet husband." I whispered with a smile to which he gave me a smirk of his own.
"You're just lost in your head again with everything going on. We're going to take this one step at a time so try not to let your old Bella ways get in the way - have some faith that things will turn out alright." Edward teased lightly. I rolled my eyes at him and he chuckled.
"Thanks."
"I'm just joking my dear but please. The biggest thing we have to worry about is the normal newborn reaction and just be ready to hold them back." Edward reminded me while we walked out of our bathroom to work on getting dressed. "At least then if they react like we're used to then we possibly are prepared for that versus something that's the opposite - not that I'm saying that if your parents act with zero bloodlust is a bad thing but..." Edward trailed off awkwardly and I giggled at him.
"No I know what you're trying to say." I assured him that no offense was taken as I know that wasn't his intent. "Still, I know we'll be prepared for the normal reaction and there's nothing we can't handle. But if we're going to prepare for the normal reaction, should we even have our children nearby?" I asked out of the blue, sinking to the bed when realizing that perhaps we should work on sending all the children out from the house to avoid a potential disaster. I love my parents but my children were my world alongside Edward - I'd be devastated if anything were to happen to my children, along with of course the others' kids. Edward sat next to me and caressed my back to try and offer me some comfort. "I should know my parents and know they'd never intend to harm anyone, especially a small child - grandchild or not. But if they react like any other normal newborn, I don't know if they'll find their blood appealing and try to go after them. We'd be able to stop them from even coming close to harming anyone but still. I wouldn't want to frighten the kids if they see Charlie and Renee suddenly ravenous and hellbent on hurting them..."
"If it helps any we can ask that the children be taken out of the house to avoid something like that happening." Edward cut in then, calming my nerves and fears as usual. I nodded to him in thanks, happy that my husband would do anything and everything to appease me and make sure I didn't worry over everything. He pulled out his cell phone and had dialed Alice's number. She readily picked up on the second ring.
"I'm already way ahead of you two and have asked that the kids be taken out today so they aren't in any potential harm's way." Alice's trilling voice came through his little cell phone once she had picked up. "It'll pretty much be Marcia, Bree, Riley, Jacob, Seth, Embry, Rosalie, and the Denali coven that will go out with them. We will be having myself, Jasper, Emmett, Carlisle, Esme and most of the nomads staying behind in the house; some have rotated out to go and feed as is, but most of us Cullen members will be here to help support you Bella. We'll be ready to help with your parents once they wake up and work on getting them acclimated to their new lifestyles with ease. You must remember that I always prepare for these things dear sister." Alice continued with a giggle, already seemingly aware of my anxiety that I was having back here at the cottage as is. I smirked up at Edward who chuckled upon hearing her explanation of the plan.
"Well then I guess this call was unnecessary?" Edward jokingly asked, watching me as I got up from the bed to head towards our closet.
"For the most part, yes. So I fully expect you to be arriving here within half an hour - don't dilly dally!" Alice chirped before she said her goodbyes and hung up. I had grabbed my underwear and slipped it on while mulling over my options for attire. Edward glanced at the time on his phone.
"It's almost eight in the morning already." he murmured aloud, where I heard him getting up from our bed. I glanced over at him and watched as he glided over to where I was in our closet, unable to stop myself some staring appreciatively at his bare chest and the fact the towel around his waist had loosened slightly. He snickered and I winked at him. "My ever hungry wife. We probably shouldn't waste anymore time here else we'll have the wrath of Alice to deal with later."
"Can't blame a girl from enjoying the view." I teased and he barked a laugh. "But you're right. I don't think I'd want to be hanging around here much longer. I need to mentally prepare myself still for my parents' awakening - and you only serve as a distraction." I continued, just as Edward dropped his towel. I growled at his brash nature, the usual emotions stirring within me once I got to ogle the specimen that was my handsome husband. He was purposefully doing this to really test my will power. "You're really making this hard on me on purpose aren't you?"
"Me? I would never!" Edward feigned innocence but didn't turn around to face me while he dug through his drawer that housed his underwear. I glowered at his backside, fighting an internal battle to dish out a punishment for him with his teasing, noting that Edward continued to chuckle to himself while he listened to my thoughts. "No time for us to have any more moments with one another my love; if we're needing to get back to the main house within half an hour like she said, then we better listen to Alice." he once again teased me as he slowly slipped on a pair of tight black boxer briefs, knowing that I was continuing to enjoy the view yet wanting to let my usual vampire emotions take over.
"You're going to regret this later, I hope you know." I muttered before I turned back to look over my clothing options again, trying to focus. I gasped when I suddenly felt him pressed up against me, feeling every contour on my backside that was his strong, hard physique. I growled deep within my chest while he leant down to suck on a pulse point of my neck.
"I'll hold you to it, my wife." he purred.
After his merciless teasing - which at least also served as a brief moment of distraction from the anxiety that was within me over my parents' awakening -, Edward reeled it in and behaved himself to let us get dressed. He chose a dark blue button down with dark jeans and boots, rolling the sleeves up to show off his sinewy arms. Meanwhile I tried dressing up a bit more with a dark blue sweater dress that reached about mid-thigh and had a slightly deep V-neck. I paired it with dark tights and black pumps. I styled my hair up into a high ponytail and put on some light makeup, while adorning myself with a pretty necklace that was a replacement tracker from the last one I had (which was destroyed thanks to Rainer), and finally made sure my wedding ring and engagement ring were on my ring finger. Edward adjusted his band on his wrist, again a similar tracker, while he made sure his wedding ring was also back on. I glided over to him once I was finished, seeing as he was right at the front door by the time I was finished. We held hands and exited our cottage, sprinting back to the main Cullen home. It was a short trip as always and soon we were in the backyard to the Cullen mansion. We eased up onto the elevated back porch and entered through the backdoor that was to the kitchen, hearing the soft murmuring of the various vampires inside. Some of the nomads were still hanging around today within in the house, but I could tell a good portion had indeed gone out to go hunt. Once we entered the living room, I could see our whole family was there with the Denali clan members that remained, sitting around on the sofas and chairs.
"Momma, Daddy!" I heard the cry of my sweet Reneesme before suddenly two blurs were before us at our feet. I looked down to see Eddie was there hugging my legs, while Reneesme went to her father. Edward chuckled and knelt down to hug her while I reached down and ruffled Eddie's bronze hair.
"The children wanted to say goodbye before they leave for the day." Marcia eased up to me then in a breezy tone, holding Charlie Jr. He grinned his sweet baby smile once he caught sight of me and made a grabbing motion towards me. She easily passed off my youngest to me and I showered him with kisses that elicited giggles out of him.
"Why can't we stay here to greet Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Renee?" Eddie whined at my feet where I glanced down to see that he was pouting.
"Your mother is worried for you and the rest of the children's safety, son. We don't know how they'll react to you all once they become like us and we don't want any of you to get hurt if they're too wild." Edward cut in then to explain to his mini-me, petting down Reneesme's curls at the same time he spoke.
"It's an honest concern to have of course." Esme spoke up then as she stroked her son's hair, while Carlisle nodded his head as he stood beside her.
"Besides you're going to have lots of fun with us while we go out today, silly." Rosalie assured her nephew while Emmett held Vera in his bulky arms. "We'll make sure that you all have so much fun while you're out. But as soon as they let us know that they're awake and able to handle themselves, we can come right back and you can greet your grandparents into their new lifestyles." she continued hoping to erase the pout that was on his face.
"I see nothing going wrong on either end today so I'm sure all the kids will have fun whilst they're out." Alice reassured me then as I handed Charlie Jr. back to Marcia, as the children all began to head towards the front door to leave with Marcia, Bree, Riley and Rosalie. "Jacob, Seth and Embry plan on meeting them at the park they plan on going to, to play most of the morning away." she added and I nodded my head.
"Just remember you have us all here to help too still, Bella." Carmen murmured from her spot beside Eleazar while Kate hovered behind them. The three of them were still planning on heading out with the others that would be taking the kids to the park, but I appreciated their support still. They each gave me a reassuring smile and I nodded back to them in thanks.
We said our goodbyes to the children and the vampires that would be going out with them. Once they were gone from the Cullen Mansion, I looked to the time to see we still had about forty minutes before the scheduled time for my parents' awakening would be upon us. I began to wring my hands and Edward came over to grab onto my hands with both of his. "Love, please." Edward teased me lightly with a comforting smile, and I sighed.
"I know I'm doing it again."
"Yes."
"Why don't you help me prepare some of the food for the others for a little bit Bella?" Esme offered a distraction, where Carlisle had went upstairs with Jasper as they said they'd begin preparing for their awakening. Alice was beside our mother, smiling and looking excited at the chance to get another cooking lesson in; she's been wanting to take up some lessons in how to prepare food for her son, nieces and nephews, and this was at least one chance for it. The rest of the nomads in the home kept to themselves like usual - they either busied themselves with books, chatting amongst one another, or watching TV mindlessly.
"Sure." I agreed to the distraction, where Edward followed behind us.
"At least we can get it done in no time, just before Charlie and Renee wake up." Alice chirped as she sped around the kitchen; Esme decided we'd make pasta for the children and the wolves so they'd have a good meal to come home to. I nodded my head to her statement and went about starting up the pots of water. Edward stood leaning against the counter behind me, watching me carefully as I tried to busy myself. "Ed, don't stand around doing nothing. Get to chopping up the salad!" Alice ordered with a scowl, as she worked on getting the veggies together for Esme who wanted to do a homemade veggie sauce.
"Yes ma'am." Edward jokingly saluted to Alice which caused me to laugh at the display. Edward then jokingly marched to the fridge to get the greens, and the pixie huffed. "Sorry, I'm poking the bear. But you are married to a soldier after all." my husband pointed out with a smirk.
"That's Sergeant Pixie to you then."
"Sir, yes sir!"
"Alright you two." Esme reigned in their joking with a snicker and I smiled through the cooking process with my mother-in-law, sister and husband. We quickly got through our cooking in record time - vampire speed and all. It only slowed down just because of how long we had to wait for the pasta to be cooked before it'd go into the baking dish as Esme wanted a baked aspect to it. But it finished with just enough time as we approached the hour of when my parents would be waking up soon.
"Bella, it's almost time." I heard Carlisle state calmly upstairs. I looked towards Edward after he had set down his bowl that housed the large salad for those that needed to eat, and bit my bottom lip out of habit.
"Darling, it'll be alright." he reassured me once again, coming over to wrap an arm around my waist. "Come on, we'll go up together."
"We're here for you Bells." Alice murmured to me in a comforting tone, her smile bright and showing every bit of confidence she had in her; she was positive that this would go over well. I nodded to the two of them, unable to voice my thoughts as I was still trying to wrap my head around the situation at hand. I didn't have 72 hours to prepare for their reactions - but instead I had less than 24 hours and now I had to try and react to them suddenly being immortal with me. I was ecstatic, yes; I had my parents with me for the rest of my life, I didn't have to say goodbye to them like I had feared all the way back during my graduation. I had them with my for the rest of eternity, but a part of me felt selfish. They deserved a lifetime of growing old with one another, being happy together as they age. They got to go through their life a bit and age up some, so they were an older set of vampires. (Nothing like the Volturi Elders of course who are beyond ancient but likely had been turned into vampires at a later period in their lives.) I still felt like a selfish daughter for having turned them like I did - but at the same time I knew I wouldn't have been able to sit there and let them die from their injuries. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to them, I never truly was and I knew that I wouldn't have been able to let them go when we were ambushed by the Volturi guards.
Edward kissed my forehead as he brought me out of my reverie; he stood there silently listening to my inner turmoil again, but didn't voice out loud his concerns for me. You're not selfish my sweet Bella; you handled the situation like any other Cullen would've - you saved the people you love and care about. You'll get to have Charlie and Renee now in your life for the rest of our existences, and they will not be upset with you. They may be a bit hurt when they find out the real truth of everything, but they'll come to terms with it. My husband thought towards me in a reassuring manner.
I sighed but nodded my head once more. "Alright."
Edward and I took the lead to walking up the stairs to the room where my parents were being housed, with Alice and Esme walking behind us. The remaining nomads that stayed behind in our mansion voiced their encouragement to me that everything would work out for the newest vampires joining our world. I had given my thanks back to them for their support, and glided up the floors to where my parents were. Jasper was standing against the doorframe to their room waiting for us, with Carlisle waiting beside him.
"I think if we can at least offer them a small cup of animal blood when they first wake up, perhaps it'd ease them into our lifestyle before we can take them out for their first hunt. If anything, it may quench their immediate thirst and if they have it the minute they are up, perhaps they won't try to bolt off and find the next source of food." Carlisle stated once we stopped to stand in front of them. Carlisle gestured inside the room, pointing out how he set up a table with some Styrofoam cups; I could detect the scent of animal blood that was in the cups.
I gulped down the venom that pooled in my mouth, as I realized it had been awhile since I hunted myself. "We can make it a family affair to hunt with your parents together, love." Edward murmured to me as soon as he heard my train of thought. I glanced around our little group, which I took note that our eyes were darkening slightly as the days went on; we definitely hadn't been on a hunt together as a family, namely due to the fact of our worries with the Volturi and if any were still hiding around the Washington area. We of course got rid of the bigger threats yesterday, so we might be able to safely hunt once more without fear of running into any of them, but there still was a slim chance some of them may be out there. Considering the fact that they were remaining hidden from our sight due to one of them having the ability to keep them invisible from us, undetected especially, we couldn't exactly let our guard down completely still. But Edward had a point that it has indeed been awhile since we've last hunted. So with the fact my parents will likely need to hunt as soon as they wake up, it'd make sense of making it a group trip.
"Sounds splendid." Esme offered with a smile, her darkening eyes lighting up at the mention.
"We'll all go, to be there to support you and your parents Bella." Jasper assured me as Alice stood beside him holding his hand.
"Thanks." I murmured to them all with a smile, before stepping inside the bedroom. Since the last time I had seen my parents, their appearances have changed drastically. Their wounds were gone and of course had since been cleaned up thanks to Carlisle and Esme yesterday, who changed them out into new clothes for them and ensured their wounds healed after I had bitten them. Their skin looked paler from what I was used to; my dad never had much color as is after living in Forks for as long as he did, so he only looked slightly paler. My mother however had developed a light tan after living in sunny states for a long time, but that was now gone as she too became pale much like the rest of us. Their features were changing as well to that beautiful vampire beauty; my father's face still had his bushy mustache yet it was molding into a handsome older face like that of an old Hollywood actor's timeless face. The wrinkles were disappearing, along with the laugh lines that had formed on his face. And my mother was de-aging as well it seemed during her transformation, lines disappearing and her skin smoothing out to where she looked like a timeless beauty much like Esme. It was weird seeing them look more and more perfect like a vampire when I had been so used to them being humans; gone was the squishiness, the wrinkles of their time, as they became granite skinned immortals. "Wow..." I breathed once I spotted them, but grimaced as my father twitched in his transformation coma. My parents would still let out the occasional grunt or gasp of pain as I knew the venom was still eating away at them.
"Any minute now they'll be waking up." Alice murmured to me, practically vibrating beside me with excitement. The rest of my family filed into the room after me, and stood next to me where we stood at the foot of the bed. Edward stood behind me with his arms wrapped around my protectively, as Carlisle and Esme stood to our left. They held hands and watched with anticipation, but gave me encouraging smiles. Alice and Jasper were to our right, with Alice bouncing endlessly in unbridled joy despite Jasper trying to blanket the room with an aura of calm - be it for me to keep my nerves down, to keep my parents under control when they'd awake, or to try to calm the force that was his pixie wife, I wasn't sure. Perhaps it was a combination of all three.
The minutes ticked by as we approached the time. No one dared to say a word as we stood there watching, waiting for one of them to be the first to wake up. I waited and waited, holding in my breath that I didn't need. The whole room was so silent a pin could drop and it'd be a deafening noise compared to all six of us standing here in anticipation.
And then, the time was here. The grandfather clock that sat downstairs began to chime on the hour, and that is when my parents' hearts suddenly kicked into overdrive. There were on the last leg of their transformation journey as their hearts are about to stop beating. I gripped onto Edward's hand tightly, never taking my eyes off of my parents. "It's time." Alice whispered, smiling brightly.
Just as she had said this, their hearts stopped and my parents' eyes opened simultaneously. We stood statue still, waiting to see what my parents would do. They likely were taking in the sights of the room. I could even hear as much in their thoughts as did Edward. I finally got to hear my parents again. Oh my god! I can see everything in this room - the particles of dust, the rough ridges of the ceiling... My mom's thoughts were the first thing I heard as she tried to take in everything her eyes could settle on.
My god... I feel like I've been through hell and back. What the hell happened actually? First I only remember being in my home with Renee when we got a surprise visit from Bells and Jacob. Then we were attacked by some weird people out of nowhere - my house went through an earthquake... Then we were speeding through the forest before I was thrown against something hard... I blacked out and then could only hear Bella talking to me - and then the fire started. My dad took the calculating route as he recalled his last day as a human. He was baffled at how he could even remotely be alive still after the pain and suffering he went through, before he suddenly realized that he wasn't sure if I was alright.
"Bella?!" My dad gasped aloud and sat up in the blink of an eye. The suddenness of him jolting upright caught us Cullens off-guard to which we all jumped, startled by the movement. Edward tightened his hold on me from behind while I watched my father's reaction with a guarded stance. Charlie's eyes, once deep brown - the same brown eyes I had inherited - were now the bright bloody newborn red. He tried to take in everything surrounding him, eyes flickering between each speck of dirt and dust in the room, to the grey light from outside of the window. His brown curls on his head were glossier than before; any traces of graying hair that he had before were now gone. My dad's eyes shot back and forth between the six of us, unable to capture every single detail. But eventually they settled onto me - and his expression softened considerably. He remembered me thankfully; I was worried he'd be lost to the newborn bloodlust and wouldn't remember me - his own daughter. "Bells." he stated calmly, and then stopped short as he realized his voice was different. He always had a husky, sort of gravelly tone to his voice; it was just his gruffness I had gotten used to once I moved in with him. Now it was smoother, less rough. It had that certain charm that vampire voices often had.
"Charlie?" My mother finally spoke up and she too jolted into an upright position. Her quick movements scared her and she gasped as she let her hands fly to her head and body, assessing herself. Her ruby eyes, once the pretty hazel, began to look down at herself, taking in her new paler skin that was now cold to the touch. Her voice, once that mellow mid-tone I had been used to, now held a pretty chime to it. My father looked down at her and seemed just as floored by her appearance, to which when she looked up at him she was stunned at what she found. "Oh my god! Your eyes..." she breathed in her new voice, whereas my dad's thoughts piqued at her voice.
My lord Renee looks stunning! I mean I always thought she was pretty in her own right but now she looks like... well she looks a bit like Esme even. My dad thought to himself as he appraised Renee.
Oh my goodness, Charlie! He looks so different - but... handsome too. I always loved looking at him; part of his charm was his ruggedness, almost lumberjack appearance that was manly and why I was initially attracted him. Now he looks a bit like Carlisle Cullen... but goodness those red eyes! my mom thought to herself as she got lost looking at Charlie.
I finally decided to clear my throat, breaking them from their thoughts and both jerked their eyes to stare at me.
Oh my god, Bella! She's... I knew there was something different about her when she dropped by the other day. Her brown eyes are gone - now they're like a deep amber color but tinged a bit... orange? And my hearing... I can hear everything and anything, but I should be able to hear her heartbeat just like I should be able to hear mine - but where are our heartbeats? My mom thought to herself in a panic, her mind in overdrive as she tried to analyze everything that was going on. My dad was no better as he tried to take in my appearance, realizing now that there was indeed something different about me; my eyes were no longer the murky brown of the contacts I had in that day, but they were the changing newborn eyes that were developing slowly to the Cullen topaz.
"Hi mom, dad." I murmured to my parents, breaking the silence that had befallen over our group in this little room. My extended family beside me poised themselves ready to act quickly should my parents react wildly like a typical newborn, with Edward tensing, ready to throw me behind him should he need to protect me. Alice was excited as ever beside me, ignoring her soldier husband beside her who was stiff as ever ready to assert his skills he's had over the last few centuries after he's dealt with hundreds of newborns. Carlisle and Esme kept themselves guarded but tried to come across as warm and inviting to my parents, who shifted as they looked between each of us. "I know it's a lot to take in right now, but let's try to take this nice and slow."
"What..." Charlie gasped aloud, pausing as he tried to still get accustomed to his new voice. He cleared his throat once or twice, unnecessarily at that, before he tried again. "What happened? What's going on? Why are we... Why can't I feel my heart beating? Or the fact I don't feel like I need to breathe? Why do you look so..."
"Easy, Mr. Swan." Jasper murmured as he pushed a blanket of calm to my dad. Charlie accepted it willingly even if he didn't know where it was coming from, and I sent my brother-in-law a thankful nod where he smirked at me.
"Bella..." Renee breathed and I turned to my mother. Her bright red eyes stared at me, questions swirling behind them. "Please. Explain to us what is going on."
"Here, how about we offer you this before the explanations begin?" Esme spoke up then, gliding to the cups and quickly appearing beside my parents with them. My parents jumped from the rapid movement and stared up at Esme in shock, then stared down at the cups. Both internally were frightened as they took in the scent of the blood, yet at the same time they suddenly realized they had this burning thirst in the back of their throats. Both couldn't understand what the sweet scent was that was coming from the cups. "This may help you with that burning feeling in your throats." Esme breezed out with a warm smile.
Charlie and Renee took the cups hesitantly, glancing up at us warily.
"It'll help, but please realize that it may be a shock to you when you find out what it is." Carlisle eased out with a calm smile, nodding to them in encouragement to take a sip.
"It's not going to be poison right?" Charlie grunted and I frowned.
"Dad, we'd never poison you and mom. Please trust us." I murmured, and Edward kissed the top of my head to reassure me that my dad didn't mean ill to his hesitation.
"Sorry Bells." Charlie muttered with a frown as Renee nodded her head. Then the two of them took a slow sip from their straws, taking in the blood that awaited them. As soon as the blood touched their tongues, their minds rapidly changed to quickly sucking the cups dry as they drained the cups. They were in awe at how delicious the liquid tasted, and realized they wanted more. When they had pulled back and stared at one another, they were floored when they saw each others' bloodied mouths and gasped. "What the hell?! Blood?" my dad growled out suddenly and whipped his gaze over to me.
"Yes dad." I mumbled out, while Alice nodded her head beside me.
"Don't freak out Charlie, it's natural for our kind to drink blood - we need it to live." Alice reassured him, ignoring Edward's snort at her brash explanation to my dad. "It might not be as tasty as human blood mind you, but for our family we live off of animal blood. It's the safe choice for us to be able to live amongst the humans if we feed off of animals." she explained calmly. Ever the blunt Pixie.
"Feed?" Renee gasped out, blinking. "Blood... what the hell is happening? Are we -"
"Renee don't even finish that sentence." Charlie could sense exactly where she was going with her statement.
"Charlie, Renee has the right of it." Esme murmured to him soothingly, smiling sadly as he tried to deny the truth laying before him.
"We're..." Renee trailed off, staring between each of us.
"Yes. You're vampires." Carlisle answered her, nodding his head firmly.
"This is outrageous!" Charlie roared suddenly, bursting up from the bed in lightning speed as he stood in the corner of the room, scowling. Jasper and Edward reacted naturally like the overprotective husbands they were, and stood before Alice and I, crouched. They were readying themselves for him to attack. Esme jumped back suddenly to Carlisle who wrapped an arm around her waist. Renee blinked at how fast we were all moving, and stared up at Charlie with a frown. My dad noticed the movement and gave out a sudden hiss which had him balk at the sudden action, but he chose to stare at us with a frown. "What? Why are you all standing around like that staring at me?"
"Charlie please calm down." Edward had muttered aloud then, addressing my father finally.
"Edward please, my dad won't hurt us." I grumbled to my husband, but he shook his head.
"Bella, you know how newborns are once they turn - you have to be prepared for any slight shift in moods."
"I wasn't like this." I muttered offhandedly, but my mother could hear everything now; as soon as she heard me she too stood up quickly and gaped at me.
"Like this? Bella, you're saying you're one of them? A vampire?"
"Mother yes. You can tell I don't have a heartbeat anymore, just like you and dad don't have one either. And you can see that my eyes are no longer brown, that I'm paler than usual. Everything is different with me - you and dad noticed it about two days ago when I had stopped by to visit. Remember, I was cold to the touch." I reminded her, and watched through her memories as she could vaguely recall back to two days ago and how she did realize there was indeed something different about me.
"Please relax Charlie." Jasper commented then, and I could sense him once again sending calming waves to my dad who still stood in the corner of the room. I glanced over my husband's shoulder and noticed that my dad accepted the calm once again, visibly relaxing from his tense state.
"I would like some answers. There's no way in hell I am a bloody vampire like you all like to think I am, nor can I possibly believe you all are vampires too." my dad grumbling through his huffing yet it was subdued thanks to Jasper's powers.
"How about we all just take a moment to relax and then we can begin explaining the situation at hand?" Carlisle offered in a calm tone, looking pointedly at Edward's and Jasper's tense stances. "You two may relax as Charlie and Renee will not plan on harming any of us like you think they may."
"Worrywarts." Alice chided with a pealing giggle as our two men relaxed finally.
"Sorry." Edward muttered and I reached up to kiss his cheek. He smiled down at me, happy that he was forgiven.
Eventually the eight of us shifted in our spots around the room. Charlie and Renee settled to sitting down on the edge of their bed, whereas Edward and I took up the loveseat by the window like we had the day before. Jasper and Alice took up residence in the armchair beside us with the pixie in his lap, and Carlisle and Esme hovered near the open doorway. We had waited for a few moments in after getting settled, as Renee and Charlie struggled in their thoughts on where to begin their questions.
Finally Charlie sighed, frowning as he realized he didn't need to take a breath any longer, and began. "Alright, let's start with the obvious elephant in the room. What the hell happened?"
I bit my lip at his blunt questioning, unsure of how to approach the delicate subject that was their deaths. But Carlisle at least saw my apprehension and nodded his head to me, silently saying he'd start for me.
"Well to begin, it's obvious. You and Renee are no longer human - but rather you are now immortal like us." he began quietly, not the least bit phased when my parents whipped their gazes to stare over at him. "From what Bella had told us, she had gone to visit you two with Jacob when you two were ambushed by our enemies. We have been hunted by them for some time now, and it seems they had decided to show themselves with my daughter-in-law and her friend were by themselves without the rest of us. I wasn't privy to her plans, but I realized that she was trying to send the two of you away for your own safety - we are planning on having a confrontation with our enemies very soon and she wanted to protect you two from getting hurt. However, it seems they had other plans in wanting to harm you and luckily Bella had shown up in time when she did. She and Jacob attempted to run you two away from your home - but there was another surprise ambush awaiting them as they tried to run away with you two... Both you and Renee were mortally wounded by the vampires that attacked you. You were on your death beds by the time some of us had arrived to their aid, and after I had done an assessment over you two, there were only two options left: Bella either had to save the two of you by biting you and turning you into vampires, or you two likely would've died in the forest. You were severely injured that moving you from your positions would've worsened your conditions and sped up you deaths - and Bella was not ready to see you leave this Earth. I left it up to her and she chose to proceed with changing you into what you are now." Carlisle explained to them gently and quietly.
My parents listened quietly to my father-in-law yet their minds raced as they listened to him give his recollection of the events. They still were flabbergasted at hearing the word - vampire. To my mother she was floored at hearing it as she assumed it only existed in her novellas that she gorged on often. She loved a good smutty, fantasy book, as she expressed as much in her thoughts once again. But now they fact she was one of those fantasy creatures, an immortal vampire, she didn't know what to believe in anymore as she couldn't wrap her mind around it. My dad wanted to deny being a vampire, claiming no such thing should exist. He couldn't believe that he was no longer a human yet he couldn't deny it either; he knew he had no heartbeat, he didn't feel the need to breathe or blink, he felt like he was in an alternate reality the more and more he sat on it.
"But..." Renee cut in then, and she too tried to clear her throat unnecessarily. "But how? Why... You've been vampires this whole time? How..."
"Mom," I called to her, and she casted her eyes towards me now. "The Cullens have been vampires for years - decades, a century or more. They've had time to really hide who they are, practice on how to act human around other humans, and done a lot of work in keeping themselves hidden. They have to keep their identities a secret from humans, so there wasn't really a way for you two ever realize they weren't human."
Renee pouted as I basically pointed out her shortcomings; my mom liked to believe she could figure out people well, especially if they were lying. But the Cullens were great at what they did, which was keeping their true nature hidden from humans.
"But how long have you all been..." Charlie trailed off. "Truthfully, that is?"
"Carlisle is the oldest of the Cullen family and one that has turned most of us." Edward spoke up then, and we looked to our patriarch of the family with a fond smile before my husband continued. "He was a roaming vampire for about three or so centuries before he stumbled upon me first back in 1918. I was dying of the Spanish Influenza - orphaned as my mother and father went before me. My mother had pleaded with him to save me by any means necessary to which he took pity on me and changed me. I was the first to join him in this vampiric lifestyle, before a few years later he found Esme as she was dying after a failed suicide attempt." Edward then looked fondly over to his mother figure. She gave a brief smile to her first son before he continued. "After I had separated from them due to a rebellious period in my life, my first sister joined us in the early 1930s - Rosalie. Carlisle had saved her after she had been left for dead when her horrible ex-fiancé raped her. Emmett was the next to join after her as she had found him in the woods when he was mauled by a bear - Carlisle bit him for Rosalie as she pleaded with him to save him. And then sometime in the 1950s, Alice and Jasper had found us as she had a vision of us and our lifestyle. Thus is the general makeup of our family before Bella joined us."
"I'd like to remind you that I'm older than you Ed, as much as your Carlisle's 'first' son." Jasper muttered with a chuckle. Edward snickered at the reminder but waved him off, where Jasper shifted his attention back to my parents. "I was turned in the mid 1800s from a rogue vampire who wanted to create a bloodthirsty army. I was a major in the Confederate Army but had strayed and fallen victim to her when she found me on the field one night. I remained with her for almost eighty years as we wreaked havoc in Texas with our newborn army of bloodthirsty vampires. However I grew tired and depressed of the lifestyle I was living - a human diet as I massacred hundreds of victims under her rule. I eventually fled her coven and wandered for a few years before I stumbled upon this beautiful sprite." he paused as he squeezed his small wife, Alice.
"I was turned in the early 1920s; I had been sent to an asylum by my fearful parents. As a human I always had a precognitive disposition, having these visions that only intensified when I was turned. A vampire within the asylum had took care of me, ensuring my safety as I was being hunted by a nomad vampire. When he saw that there would be no end to the chase, the vampire turned me in hopes it'd deter my hunter from harming me - which it did but it led to his downfall before I had fled. Eventually that is when I stumbled upon my Jasper - and I had a vision of a warm, loving family that was the Cullens. I set out for them with Jasper following me willingly. It wasn't long until we joined the family." Alice explained with a breezy smile.
Renee and Charlie were reeling from all of this information coming at them all at once, as they internally did the math in figuring out how old each of the Cullens truthfully were. "I know it's a lot to take in, but yes. We've been vampires for many years." Edward surmised, as he read their thoughts.
"But what about you, Bells?" Charlie questioned then, staring down at me now as he begged me through his mind to answer my part in all of this.
"When I first came back to Forks, I had met Edward first in Biology. He had reacted so poorly that first day. His eyes were black with bruises underneath, and he acted as if I smelled like a mixture of garbage, wet dog, and guts considering he refused to speak to me, sit close to me at that table and tried to beg Mrs. Cope to switch periods so he could avoid me." I began, smirking as Edward shifted uncomfortably next to me. He still regretted his poor reaction to this day, but I had moved past it a long time ago. "It wasn't only until later that Edward had explained to me he only reacted that way because he hadn't fed for some time, coming to school unprepared with his siblings - and my blood had drove him mad with bloodlust."
"I had been a vampire for nearly a century, where I had pride within myself that I had built up a decent amount of control to be around humans with no fear of lusting for human blood. And in waltzed my sweet Bella who smelled like the most tantalizing buffet of food a human could ever bask in." Edward murmured, and grimaced when Charlie let loose a low growl - a fatherly growl of disapproval at his choice of words. "Sorry sir, but it's the truth. Bella's blood called to me, stronger than any other human's blood had in nearly one hundred years which terrified me. I had fled from Forks for a week when I encountered her, but came back after I had talked with some relatives and had an extensive hunting trip of animal blood before returning to school. I was a bit more pleasant to be around after that day and Bella was suffering whiplash from my change in moods - but nothing could slip by her keen eyes either."
"His eyes were no longer black, but a bright topaz." I cut in then, smiling up at him. "His whole demeanor changed as well when I talked with him again; from being cold and harsh, to suddenly warm and friendly, I didn't know what to make of his sudden mood change." I noted aloud as Alice giggled.
"Sadly Edward suffered from a bit of a mood disorder when he hung around Bella in the early days." she teased; Edward scowled at her and she shrugged to him which elicited some chuckles from the other Cullens.
"He also let our secret slip to Bella bit by bit the more they hung around one another." Jasper interjected, winking at his brother.
"She was a danger magnet and I wasn't about to let her get hurt." Edward defended himself, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation.
"Danger magnet?" my mother parroted, looking over at me alarmed.
"The first incident had been when she nearly was crushed by Tyler's van that snowy morning." Edward explained to my mother gently, as Charlie gave a gruff grunt.
"I remember that morning, and I still feel like wringing his neck after he almost crushed you." Charlie mumbled, which caused Edward to smirk.
"Dad, please." I whined weakly to which the others chuckled.
"That was also the first incident that Bella had realized I wasn't a normal human; I wasn't about to let her be crushed by that van so I had sprinted across the parking lot, put myself between her and the van and stopped it simply with my hand all the while I had protected her. She saw the dent I had left behind, as well as put two and two together that it was impossible for me to make it across the parking lot as quickly as I did. She was not one to easily give in as I tried to deflect the reality of the situation - tried everything to keep our secret safe as she wanted answers. Bella did not like being lied to." Edward continued, gazing down at me knowingly. "The second incident was a situation in Port Angeles - after she had a visit in seeing Jacob who told her tales of his people as well as other legends, Bella had begun piecing things together when she was out with her friends one night shopping for prom dresses. She separated from them however, but she wasn't truly alone as I had followed them from a distance. I felt this need to protect her despite the fact I had told her that it'd safer for her if we didn't interact, if we weren't friends. But I couldn't keep myself away from her, no matter how hard I tried. It was a good thing I had followed her considering she had landed herself in an alleyway with drunks whose thoughts were not pure at all..."
"Hold on." Charlie interrupted again, and I looked over to see him scowling. "Followed? Port Angeles, in an alleyway with drunks? You heard their thoughts?" he prattled off, shaking his head unable to keep up with the new information hurled his way.
"Yes." Edward stated with a smile. "I have the ability to read everyone's thoughts - everyone is an open book to me. Back when I was a human, I had the innate talent of being able to read people which manifested into my own ability to read minds - much like how Alice had said she always had a precognitive disposition as human before it manifested into her having the ability to have visions as a vampire, I have my own ability. Thus I'm able to read everyone's minds - and that includes yours." Charlie and Renee blanched upon hearing this, but Edward continued to smile. "At first, I couldn't read Bella's mind; that was part of what drew me in in wanting to figure her own, part of her appeal. She was a mystery to me at first - I could read every single person's mind within many miles, except for hers." my husband turned to look down at me with a grin. "She was an enigma and so hard to read. However, that changed later on - but we'll get to that in a bit."
Charlie gave a noise of surprise, but Renee shook head. "Edward I... I don't know what to say." Renee murmured; I could hear within her mind that she was apologetic for every single wary thought she had of him in the past.
"No offense is taken - neither of you knew that I knew all along." Edward brushed off the apologies before he shifted again. "I had followed her that night and after hearing the thoughts of those scumbags who wanted to hurt her, I accepted the fact that I could not stay away from her - she attracted danger around every corner without knowing, and thus I raced to rescue her. It was another night where she put the pieces together, and eventually cornered me in a restaurant that I took her to where she demanded answers. Bit by bit I let the secret slip out - but she basically had solved it all on her own. She just wanted confirmation."
"Jacob played a part, but yes I did a lot of investigative work before finding out the truth that the Cullens were not human. I knew Edward wasn't a mortal from everything that I had been through with him so far." I cut in then, leaning into his side. "The more time we spent together, the more we realized we had this attraction for one another - that eventually led to our relationship forming into something romantic. I couldn't see a life without him existing in mine, and Edward couldn't see a future without me in it - be it with me as a human or immortal, though he tried his best to keep me within the human realm. He felt as if the vampire life was eternal damnation, a life as a soulless monster roaming the earth." I paused to throw an apologetic to Carlisle. "With no offense to you."
"None taken, you know this." Carlisle accepted it breezily as Edward rubbed his neck awkwardly; he already had confronted this issue with Carlisle on and off after I had fallen pregnant, but still felt terrible for how he spoke of his lifestyle knowing Carlisle could hear.
"Bella nearly joined me as a vampire early on after she had an encounter with nomad vampires. We were out having fun playing baseball -"
"Baseball?" Renee barked out with a chuckle, cutting Edward off.
"It's America's favorite pastime." Jasper teased lightly, where us Cullens chuckled at the remark.
"But I've never seen any of you play, nor did you mention it when you all were in school." Charlie muttered, lost on our humor in the situation.
"They only played whenever there was a loud thunderstorm rolling in." I explained to my dad. "And on one particular night, there was a storm to which they felt like they could play. It sadly ended poorly because a group of nomad vampires crashed the game - and one of them was a certain vampire named James." I continued, frowning as I remembered the group. "James was a tracker type of vampire who loved the thrill of the chase - he was the vampire who was after Alice originally, and had been around this whole time still hunting down humans for fun. When he caught my scent that day when I was out with the Cullens, he made it a challenge to hunt me down as he intended to kill me. But he was even more thrilled at the prospect considering he saw how Edward had reacted protectively over me." I glanced up at my husband who leaned down to peck my cheek. "I fled that night - remember?" I looked up to my dad. Charlie paused as he recalled vaguely to that night when I left in a fury, and all of the nasty hurtful words I had said to him. "I said all of that to get you to let me go - it was for your protection. If I had remained in Forks, James would've gone after you. As much as the words hurt, it worked in separating me from you so you could be protected. Thus, Jasper, Alice and I ran to Phoenix since it was the only other place I knew; the rest of the Cullens tried to chase after him as well as chase away his mate, Victoria. But James went after us instead and used a video of mom when I was younger, to lure me out and trap me in hopes of killing me. Edward and the others had raced to me to try to save me in time." I paused again to extend my arm out and let them see the age old crescent scar that James had left - and one that also still remained since Edward had sunk his teeth into the spot to suck the venom out. My parents glanced down at the mark grimacing. "I nearly became a vampire that night, but Edward saved me in sucking out the venom that James had tried to spread into me. The others killed him, and of course all the injuries I had sustained from James that night landed me in the hospital."
"Oh that night..." Renee spoke up then, gasping with realization as she recalled back to that night; she remembered getting a phone call about me being in the hospital after I had fallen down some flights of stairs and crashed through a window. She had flown down to see me and also remembered seeing Edward the first time as he refused to leave my side. Now she realized the truth of the situation. I nodded my head to her to confirm her line of thinking.
"After that situation, I had tried to leave Bella as I tried to convince her that I was a danger to her - she deserved a safe life away from me as I did nothing but put her in danger. But Bella refused the notion and wanted to remain with me forever." Edward explained next, sighing as he smiled down at me sadly. "The woman was a stubborn thing and I knew at the time I couldn't change her mind."
"But you did leave." Charlie muttered roughly, where flashes of memories back to my eighteenth birthday ran through his head. The desolate months as I was a husk of myself, the memories as he recalled the nights I suffered my horrible nightmares filled with screams and sobs. I winced audibly as did Edward since we were flooded with torrents of memories from him, whilst the other Cullens grimaced visibly at the reminder.
"Yes." Carlisle muttered sadly, looking to the floor with a pained expression. "That was the hardest time for Edward and Bella, as well as the rest of our family. I hated to see us leave Forks after Bella's 18th birthday but you have to realize a terrible accident happened that night that put the fear into Edward's soul - he feared once again that this life would put Bella's safety at risk and he wanted to protect her from ever getting hurt again."
"It was my fault." Jasper muttered quietly under his breath, almost too quiet for a normal human to hear. But seeing as we all had our sensitive hearing, we could hear his lamenting.
"Jazz..."
"Alice it was my fault and there was no denying it." Jasper countered his wife as she tried to argue against his deprecating commentary.
"What happened?" Renee asked then, frowning.
"Bella had gotten a paper cut on her finger - and it had been awhile since we all last hunted. Jasper was still relatively new to our vegan lifestyle, we jokingly call it. He was still struggling to adjust after he had been accustomed to his bloodlust of human blood for years. So he was the one to snap and nearly went after Bella after she had cut herself. I had reacted poorly in trying to defend her and threw her behind me where she crashed into some vases that led to deeper wounds and more blood being expelled." Edward explained tightly, frowning heavily into the carpet. "My brash decisions, and the sudden change of Jasper's demeanor around Bella's blood had me thinking irrationally at the time, but I had fear put into my head back then. I couldn't risk seeing Bella hurt ever again or see her life put into danger - she had nearly lost it several times over the longer she was associated with my family, and I couldn't bare to think that she'd end up dying if she was near us. So I reacted poorly, and left her thinking it was for the best. I forced my family to leave Forks as well, hoping that eventually she'd move on, find solace in her human life, grow old and forget about us."
"Fat chance." I muttered, and noted that Edward rolled his eyes at me briefly for my blunt response.
"We all know how that turned out of course." Charlie mumbled as each of us recalled back to that time from our different perspectives.
"Eventually, Edward nearly had his own suicide attempt when I had a vision that it seemed like Bella had thrown herself off of a cliff." Charlie and Renee looked up, alarmed at this bit of news. "If you recall later on, Bella tried to explain to you Charlie - albeit in different words - that Edward had wanted to kill himself as he was realizing his mistake in leaving my sister. In truth, I had a vision of Bella in what looked like she was trying to kill herself as she was throwing herself off a cliff in La Push before she suddenly disappeared from my 'sight'. That was enough to prompt me to race back here to Forks to find her - and imagine my surprise when I found her alive. Although, she was sporting a new head wound and a dog that followed her everywhere." Alice shook her head at me as she remembered that time, and I pouted at her terminology that she used for Jacob. "Sorry Bella, but that's the best I can explain it."
"Dog? Head wound? You threw yourself off of a cliff?!" Renee sputtered out as she stared at me in bewilderment. "Why did you never say a word of any of this to us Isabella?! How could you keep this from your father and I?"
"I wasn't jumping off the cliff to kill myself - at least that wasn't my intention but the fact I hit my head on my way into the surf would've led to it." I weakly explained with a grimace as Charlie shook his head angrily. "I was jumping off the cliffs in La Push because Jacob had told me as much - the cliffs were used for recreational purposes, for fun for those down there at the beach. I was having a stint of daredevil episodes - I think I was really losing my mind and desperately wanted to see Edward." I gave a harsh chuckle; looking back on it, any natural response to it is yes I was going crazy with delusions. Frankly I think that's all it was still, yet most of them saved me in some aspect. But I did nearly end up wounded or hurt on more than one occasion. Upon seeing some of the confused looks, I explained myself. "Every time I had acted on a dangerous stunt - riding motorbikes with Jacob, nearly hopping onto the back of a bike with a stranger from Port Angeles, to encountering a vampire in the woods by myself and finally the cliff diving episode - my mind would conjure up an image of Edward and how he'd react. Or more so, the illusion of him would tell me how to react and try to protect me. I know it was me going crazy from my depression as I was desperate in wanting to see him, but at the time I really thought he was there with me saving me."
"You never told me any of this before." Edward murmured to me with a frown. I held his hand and for a few moments I replayed every single memory during that time, from each scary encounter I had put myself through and through those flashes I'd show him how I had managed to 'see' him and how he'd guide me through each situation in order to try and protect me from getting hurt. Edward blinked as each memory went through his mind and he stared at me dumbfounded.
"Bella had told me a bit of this after she had jumped, but we had no time sadly to dwell on it; after I had believed that she was dead and had told the family, Edward had called expecting to speak with you Charlie," Alice gestured to my father, focusing back on the topic at hand. Charlie looked surprised to hear this. "But you weren't home at the time - instead Jacob was with Bella and I, as it was Jacob who saved her from drowning after her jump. Jacob misunderstood exactly what Edward was asking for - and at the time you were gone for Harry Clearwater's funeral. So when Jacob had told him you were at a funeral, my brother misunderstood thinking that you were at Bella's funeral. So in turn, Edward decided that if Bella was no longer in this world, then neither should he." Alice turned to give Edward the stink eye at this mention, even though mentally she was expressing her sympathy for the two of us during that painful period. "Let's just say Bella wasn't happy with the dog, and before long the two of us were racing to save Edward from the Vampire Elders; he would force their hand in killing him which would be done by breaking one of our most sacred rules."
"Hold up, hold up." Charlie grunted again, shaking his head. He was once again struggling to keep up with these new pieces of information. "Please let's break it down again - Dog? Rules? Vampire Elders?"
"I know, it's so much to take in all at once, Charlie." Carlisle sympathized with him, smiling sadly.
"For one, Dog being Jacob." Jasper joked, and I scowled at him. "Sorry sister, but it's the nicest way of putting it." Then Jasper looked back to my parents who still seemed confused. "If you love and know Jacob, you should know - Jacob as well as most of the boys down from La Push are werewolves. Or Shape-shifters rather, as they're not true wolves where they turn with every full moon and can be killed with silver. Rather, due to the legends from their culture, they are protectors of their land and of humans, which they happen to naturally take on the form of wolves." Charlie's eyes widened at this explanation. "Before, we were natural enemies with them due to a treaty that was put in place years ago - however once Bella arrived and had thrown a wrench into the treaty as she was a human who willingly wanted to become a vampire, as well as Jacob had given up on his quest to win her heart once he had imprinted on someone else, we formed an alliance with the Wolves and have since worked together these past few months with any threats that come our way."
"Treaty? What all was that?" Renee questioned then.
"Originally it was that no vampire could attack or bite a human, else the wolves will be descend upon us and they could freely eradicate us from this land. In tandem, we stuck with the treaty and had only asked that they remained on their side of the territory - so that we could live peacefully. And had promised we'd never step foot onto their land, or hunt on their land." Carlisle explained calmly.
"Okay..." Charlie trailed off, looking still overwhelmed by this information in finding out a kid who knew most of his life was a wolf this whole time.
"As for the rules and Vampire Elders," I began again, and glanced up at my parents. "In truth there was only ever one rule the vampire world had to adhere by - and that was to never expose one self to the mortals." I smirked at Edward as he shrugged his shoulders. "Considering Edward had done that, and after Alice and I had ran to save him from killing himself in Italy, we were cornered by guard members for the Vampire Elders." I shifted to squeeze his hand. "Edward would expose himself to a crowd of humans in the sunlight which would showcase his diamond skin - and once humans would see him, the guard members would descend upon him and take him away to kill him. Force their hand. The Elders wanted to keep Edward for his talent but Edward was not keen on joining their guard, much less still live as he believed I was dead. Once Alice and I arrived, and the guard members cornered us, they had a new issue on their hands when they realized I was a human who knew of their world. After being taken to the Elders - a group of vampires who liked to hold rule over the vampire world as they were feared for their powerful guard members who enforced the rule over every vampire that existed -, the leader of the Elders was fascinated with our story as well as the fact he couldn't read my mind much like Edward couldn't. They were still going to kill me, and had nearly harmed Edward - but Alice saved the day by promising that I would be joining the vampire world as she's seen it through her visions."
"God..." Charlie breathed then, shaking his head. He couldn't fathom that I would put myself in danger willingly, much less for a boy like Edward, and couldn't grasp that he nearly lost me without even realizing it. Renee was just as floored as I explained our story.
"Eventually, the leader was placated with this promise and let us go, which now leads us to the current day - I of course lived, Edward lived and well... Edward proposed to me, I accepted it." I smiled up at my husband as I recalled back to that fateful night that led us down this path that is our lives now. He smiled down at me as he too remembered that night.
"But..." Renee began again, frowning. I looked back at her to see she was still trying to fit the puzzle pieces together of how I ended up being a vampire when just at graduation she had seen me as a human - or at least to her knowledge, a passable human. "You were a human still when you were graduating high school - human and pregnant. What led to this?" she asked then, gently gesturing with a waving hand to my appearance.
"In part, that is thanks to Edward." Jasper muttered, rubbing at his neck now as the conversation was about to turn awkward.
"Edward getting you pregnant led to you becoming a vampire?" Charlie asked, scowling at his son-in-law.
"Charlie please don't be upset." Carlisle stepped into defend Edward. "The two of them were taking leaps and bounds in their relationship, which yes led to the pregnancy between them but at the time when initially they had been physically intimate - we didn't know Bella was pregnant. Instead she showcased other signs that something was different." Carlisle shifted as he looked to Edward and I, silently asking if this was alright for him to explain for us. I nodded to him as did my husband and we sat while our father figure began again. "You see after they had become intimate, Bella started exemplifying changes within her physical makeup. She started to have a stronger sense of smell, higher emotional states of mind as her emotions were amplified, physical changes within her body - she was becoming stronger each day and also could run like us vampires even though she was still a human and should not be capable of running at such speeds. Along with that, she gained powers," he paused when my parents seemed surprised to hear I gained powers. "Yes, we were shocked too when this was coming to light. Bella, a mere human, was gaining powers more and more she progressed through her pregnancy. She developed a defensive sonic screech would would paralyze anyone within radius, along with a 'sponge' ability as she was gaining the psychic talents that Edward, Alice and Jasper housed. Yes, Jasper is also talented - he can manipulate one's emotions and push out any desired emotion that he wishes to send out." he briefly explained as now my parents were privy to a third Cullen being talents. "Eventually, she gained also the need to have blood integrated into her human diet after we had figured out she was pregnant. Her twins were hybrids between the two parents - a human and a vampire. It was nothing like we had ever seen before as she developed throughout her pregnancy and we were mostly wading through the dark in trying to find answers. The best we could essentially surmise was the fact that when Bella and Edward were intimate, through Edward's... uh, how to put this -"
"You can just say it." Charlie muttered unhappily, his thoughts feeling immensely uncomfortable at where this conversation was going. "We're adults and as much as I'm not happy hearing about it with my daughter and her husband, if you have to use accurate terms then go ahead."
I chuckled at my dad's awkwardness as did everyone else, where Renee reached over to grab his hand and give it a squeeze; my dad gave her a sheepish smile.
"Alright... Through Edward's semen, there was venom mixed within that once it came into contact with Bella, it also came into contact with her bloodstream. Whilst he impregnated her, his venom also managed to find its way through her system and slowly began to change Bella. The fact she was carrying her twins likely slowed the transformation process down as her body was changing yet had to remain intact to nurture the twins. As soon as Bella was ready to give birth to her children however, her body caught up with the transformation and the venom within her system took to finishing the process. Within less than two days, Bella became a vampire - yet she is still not a standard vampire like the rest of us." Carlisle went about explaining it as technical as possible, and if I could still blush I would at his ending statement.
"What do you mean?" Renee asked, her eyebrows furrowing.
"Once Bella became a vampire, there were still some unique features with her that aren't exactly normal for the usual vampire." Alice took over, smiling at me. "For starters, it's as if the venom in her system preserved her reproductive system and all that entails to it. When a female vampire is created in the normal setup, our reproductive system is obsolete therefore we can not have children naturally like a human would. But for Bella, we found out that after it was saved - she could still produce children and produce breast milks for the tykes." I shifted awkwardly beside my husband who squeezed my hand. "It was a startling discovery to say the least, and yet the angel that my sister is, she was more than willing to fulfill some wishes of ours for our family and become a surrogate for us all - so now we have several little hybrid children running around this house."
"Children?!" Charlie asked in shock, staring at me wide-eyed.
"We have our twins that you last saw Bella pregnant with," Edward began, smiling down at me with love in his eyes. "And then we have a niece and some nephews through Bella, before we lastly had our most recent child. Rosalie, my sister, was always wanting a child and my wife wanted to grant her her wish - so Bella was a surrogate for her first and had a successful pregnancy where Vera was born. Eventually, Bella was a surrogate for Carlisle and Esme, and one as well for Alice and Jasper; and then finally, I wanted another child with her so we had our youngest son not too long ago." He leaned down to kiss my cheek. "Bella always has a unique way of making things her own, and she is a miracle for this family in what all she has given back to us."
"Oh my goodness..." Renee was in awe at hearing this but I merely shrugged.
"As you can see this family thinks so highly of me but I just see it as wanting to help out, nothing more." I mumbled, which earned chuckles from the Cullens.
"This is all just so much to take in..." Charlie muttered, shaking his head once more.
"There's still so much more we have to tell you about, but I feel as if you two should hunt soon." I stated, looking up at them. They seemed affronted with the idea, and looked at one another frightened. "Trust me, it's not really that big of a deal, but we'll be with you two - to guide you." I reassured them with a smile, standing to my feet.
"I still have so many more questions I need answers to." Charlie countered, also standing quickly to his feet. "But I guess... the most important question I have is why." He looked back over to me, frowning. "Why did you never tell us any of this Bella? Why did you keep this from us?" I like to think I'd be able to understand, or at least keep this a secret from others finding out - but let's face it maybe I'd freak out. Maybe that's why she never told me.
"Yes dad, that's why." I frowned, and his eyebrows furrowed when he realized I didn't answer his question fully but rather mentally. I tapped my temple and said, "Sorry, remember - sponge here. I picked up on Edward's mind-reading ability and tend to answer people's thoughts aloud. Force of habit." I gave him a sheepish smile as Edward chuckled beside me, where he was now standing closely to my left holding onto my hand. "But yes - I knew you'd freak out just like you did when you first woke up and wouldn't believe me. It was namely for your own safety that I kept you and mom in the dark. I don't think either of you would go about telling the world about the secret, but I couldn't risk you two getting hurt either. You very much nearly died in Seattle because of me." I frowned as I recalled back to Victoria's cruel taunting - it was her doing that she hurt my dad, and she had told me as much that she toyed with the idea of outright murdering him yet chose to spare him.
"When he was attacked? How could that have anything to do with you sweetie?" Renee asked then, grasping onto my dad's hand as she still remained seated.
"The vengeful nomad vampire that was after me and the Cullens - Victoria, James' mate that we told you about." I murmured, shaking my head. "After we had murdered her mate - as well as murdered their third member, Laurent, who had tried to kill me when the Cullens left last fall - Victoria was dead set on still trying to kill me. She set about building an army of newborns to kill my family and I, where she was based in Seattle." I frowned to my dad as realization suddenly dawned across my face. "That day when you separated from your partner, you were cornered by Victoria and likely one of her newborns; she knew who you were from her means of stalking me and the numerous times she had went to our house after sending her lackeys into my room. She was using newborns to scout out pieces of clothing to use as a scent bait for her newborns to hunt us down - and at times she'd drop by with them. She saw you, knew your association with me, and knew where to strike to try and hurt me."
"Jesus." Charlie grumbled, his eyebrows pushing down in anger.
Edward absently reached up towards his face where the scars resided and my parents watched his movement. "We ended her life along with most of her newborns on the day Bella would give birth - of course we have lasting scars from her and her newborns that she created." Edward briefly explained as I pulled my sleeve up to showcase the numerous newborn bite marks that were left within my skin. My mother gasped as she saw the scars between the two of us.
"Along with that there was still the threat of the Elders that loomed over our heads." Jasper spoke up again, scowling into the carpet. Alice nodded her head as she stood closely next to her husband.
"On the day that we had ended the army and I was about to give birth, some of their guard members came to greet us out there in the woods. And they saw that I was pregnant, yet still human." I murmured to my parents. "We had made a deal that I had to be turned into a vampire, but they saw that I was pregnant - and later on the lie was spread that we were creating immortal children. Immortal Children is one of the other rules to not break within the vampire world - you cannot bite a child as a child vampire could potentially lead to an unhinged creation who has no means of control over their strength. The vampire Elders had been plagued in the past by them and thus implemented the rule that if any Immortal Children were to be created, they must be annihilated along with their creators. But our children are not Immortal Children," I explained to them with every bit of fierce determination to get my message across, the fiery protectiveness and love that I had for our kids roaring within my dead heart. "They are hybrid children - half human, half vampire with beating hearts. They do indeed grow rapidly, and develop quicker than the average child. Yet they still have human needs like eating, drinking and sleeping; they're just a mixture between a vampire and human with the right balance and nowhere near unhinged like that of an Immortal Child that is fully vampiric."
My parents nodded as they listened, believing my words.
"When you meet them, you'll fall in love with them immediately like we had." Edward murmured reverently, smiling to my parents.
"For now, I think you two should hunt." Esme advised gently, smiling to them as well.
"Are you sure we're ready for... all of this?" Charlie questioned aloud, gesturing to the room but in sense gesturing to the new life that awaited them.
"No one is ever truly ready when they're first turned, Charlie." Jasper reassured him, smiling sadly. "You will find in time you can adjust to this, and get through everyday like we have for years. It'll take time - but we will be with you every step of the way to ensure your success."
"I'll be here for you guys." I reassured them as well. I stepped away from my husband who willingly let me glide over to my parents. Renee stood then and I embraced my dad first into a tight hug, feeling that surging joy within me that I had my parents with me again - Edward was right of course. I was deeply saddened at the notion that I'd have to say goodbye to them for forever after I had graduated. I hated the idea that I'd never get to see them again, that I'd never be able to talk with them or hug them. It plagued me for months as I would sit afar from them and try to find time to sneak away from my family so I could watch them even just for a bit. But after I had made the decision to save them from their impending deaths that day in the forest, I now had them with me for forever. Charlie reciprocated the hug, his strength a tight grip over me. "Ow, careful dad." I teased with a gasp and Charlie immediately let me go. I could hear Edward behind me shift; my overprotective fool was worried my parents would hurt me. "Oh calm down Edward - my parents don't realize they're stronger than us as newborns so he doesn't have a grip on how strong his hugs are."
Edward huffed whilst Alice, Jasper, Carlisle and Esme laughed at my remark.
"Sorry Bells."
"No worries dad, just got to be careful." I teased him after I pulled away. Renee enveloped me into a similar hug, even though I could tell she was trying her hardest to be delicate about it. When she pulled away I zipped back to Edward's side as he wrapped an arm around my waist. "Are you two ready for your first hunt?" I asked them with a smile. My parents looked at each other warily, still unsure if they were ready.
"We will be with you every step of the way." Esme reassured them again, and my parents took in each of our faces to see if we were telling the truth.
Finally Renee nodded her head. "I guess we better get working on it then."
And with that, the eight of us left the room, heading out from the house.
I had a feeling it'd take awhile for my parents to adjust to being vampires; for so long of course they were only used to being human and had no clue about this other world existing. It was a shock for them that they had to try and adjust to. But as I watched my parents who were taking in the first lesson with Edward and Alice teaching them how to take off into a vampire sprint without sling-shotting themselves into the first tree, they were watching them with rapt attention and I could hear within their thoughts that they wanted to learn; they wanted to learn for me - wanted to make this work where they could live forever with me peacefully.
It would be hard for them, but I had hopes they'd adjust to it fast enough.
And I would be there with them every step of the way to make sure of that.
A/N: Eh, maybe a blase ending to the chapter? I felt like I needed to at least get on with it as I had been putting off this update for awhile. Again I was a bit stuck on how to progress with this chapter but I think I finally found the inspiration and I hope I did it justice.
Is it still far-fetched with the whole explanation from before in how they were turned so quickly? Likely. But in a way, Bella is unique and of course has a way of turning everything on its head, in my head thanks to how the story's developed.
We've likely only got a few more chapters to go before this story is officially over. But also, keep in mind I have a poll up on my page asking for votes on which stories should be rewritten if any at all - and Alternative Eclipse is one of the options! I admit I detest most of my older works considering I wrote most of this fan fiction back when I was a teen with zero knowledge on how to write much less come up with cohesive plots. Very underdeveloped writing style is the best way to put it. As I've grown older I'd like to believe my writing style has improved and I'm a bit more proud at how my stories are coming along with my change in style. Thus I feel like some stories could use a rewrite here and there.
As usual I try my best in capturing my mistakes as I type and before I publish. But I am still human so grammar mistakes and misspellings are still likely to slip past me. Any feedback is always appreciated!
Until next time,
~Lady Eleanora