"Let me go," Charlie roared throwing Irina and Eleazar into a tree. The both jumped up and ran back over to the group. Emmett maintained his grip on Charlie but barely.
"Charlie you need to calm down," Emmett muttered to the angry vampire.
"No," Charlie said shaking his head. "I need to go back to Fork. I have to help Bella."
Kate's hands had a faint glow of electricity. She was ready to use the full force of her gift if Charlie didn't calm down. Tanya stepped forward. She put a hand on Kate's shoulder and shook her head.
"Tanya," Kate protested.
"Kate," Tanya said. "He wants to protect his daughter. Can you deny you wouldn't feel the same in his position?"
Despite Charlie rejecting her when they first met, Tanya and Charlie had bonded over their desire to protect their family. Ever since Sasha's demise, Tanya had done everything she could to protect her sisters. It didn't matter that they were over a thousand years old, Tanya would continue to protect them. Charlie felt the same about Bella. Even when she turned and was off with Rosalie, Charlie would still want to protect her. It was sweet.
Kate reluctantly backed down. She didn't like it but she respected Tanya's decision. "I'm not leaving," she said firmly.
Tanya squeezed her shoulder before stepping toward Charlie. "Charlie," Tanya called softly. Charlie's eyes darted to hers. They were still blood red, with some flecks of amber, even though he'd been fully dedicated to the animal diet since being in Denali. It would take months before his eyes changed colors, perhaps less considering he lost a lot of blood.
"I need to go back," Charlie said. "I couldn't protect her before but I can now."
Since being taken to Denali, Charlie had learned everything that Bella had kept hidden. He was devastated to hear about the rape and how Bella wouldn't come to him. He did understand. He would have hunted down those men but Rosalie had beaten him to it. He wasn't sure how he would have taken the truth before. He was never more grateful to have Rosalie in Bella's life.
"You know you can't go back," Tanya said gently. "It's not safe for Bella. You could try to hurt her again." Charlie's will to fight disappeared. Tanya nodded at Emmett and he released Charlie.
"I should be there for her," Charlie mumbled.
"And you will be," Tanya told him. "But right now, you need to focus on yourself, on gaining control. Let the Cullen's take care of Bella. I promise you, she's in safe hands, especially with the Whitlock's helping out."
"Why didn't you go to Forks to help?" Charlie questioned.
"We offered," Kate said. Now that Charlie was calm, she could relax. "We've offered more than once but Jasper says they have it under control. It's probably for the best. The more vampires together… the more likely it is that something could happen."
"As in attacking Bella?" Charlie asked.
"Not necessarily," Tanya said carefully. While she would never lie, she wanted to be as delicate as possible. "We're predators Charlie and eventually, when there are a large group of predators together, things get heated, intentionally or not. No one, Cullen or Denali, would ever attack Bella. To do so would start a war between the two families because Rosalie would defend her mate and the others would help. But, if an argument were to break out and it led to a fight, Bella could get caught in the middle."
Charlie nodded in understanding. This was one of the reasons he liked Tanya. She was honest with him, no matter how upset he may get at what she had to say. The same with Emmett. Kate and Irina were honest but both of them worried about him potentially snapping.
"She'll be okay Charlie," Tanya said gently. "I promise, nothing is going to happen to her."
For some reason, not even Charlie understood, he believed her. "Okay," Charlie agreed. "Okay. But if something else happens, I'm going back to Forks."
"If something else happens, we'll all go to Forks," Tanya decided.
At this moment, Charlie was a member of the Denali coven, at least until he was past his newborn phase, and the Denali's protected their own. If that meant going to Forks to take care of Edward and the remaining nomad, then that's what they would do.
"Okay Angela, spill," Bella told her friend.
"It was nice," Angela said.
Bella scoffed. "It was nice," she repeated. "Come on, give me details. This was your first time hearing the stories after learning everything was true and as an imprint."
"It is fun. The others were very welcoming of me," Angela told her best friend. "It turned out it was a party to welcome me into the tribe. It turns out, if a wolf imprints on someone, even if they're not part of the tribe, they become a tribe member at the…initiation of sorts. All the wolves turn to, so we know and recognize them. They're huge!"
"What did they look like?" Bella asked curious. She hadn't seen the wolves before but was curious as to what they looked like.
"I can't say," Angela told her. "But I can say Sam is the biggest wolf. Paul says it's because he's the Alpha."
Bella nodded in understanding. She was a little bummed but it wasn't Angela's fault. Bella glanced at Rosalie. She was across the living room, sitting with Alice and shopping for clothes for her. Bella didn't want to be a part of the rest of the process. She picked out a few things and trusted Rosalie to pick out the rest.
"Are you thinking about Rosalie?" Angela asked, noticing Bella was distracted.
"Always," Bella answered. Rosalie smiled at her before going back to the shopping. "I'm glad you know everything Angela."
"I'm glad too," Angela said. "I was wondering… if it wasn't for Paul, would you have told me about everything?"
Bella turned her attention away from Rosalie so she could focus on Angela. "Honestly? I don't know. I definitely wouldn't have said anything about the wolves. I don't have the right to say anything about them. But I really don't know if I would have said anything about Rosalie. Maybe if you had confronted me about it."
Angela nodded in understanding. "I get it," she said. "I think, if it wasn't for Paul, I wouldn't want to know about all of this." Paul turned from the game to give Angela a sad smile. "Don't get me wrong, I really care about Paul but this… I don't think everyone is meant to know about this."
"At least we have each other," Bella said softly.
"Angela's good for Bella," Alice muttered.
"She is," Rosalie agreed. She was willing to admit she was nervous when Bella first started getting close to Angela. It wasn't jealousy, and she had Jasper to prove that, it was fear that Bella would lose her only real, human friend. Now that Angela knew about them, that fear was slowly starting to disappear. "I'm glad she has Angela."
"But you're worried," Alice said knowingly.
"I'm always worried," Rosalie said. She sighed. "Eventually, we will leave Forks. Angela can't come with us. She's likely to stay here with Paul." She leaned back in her seat. "Bella mentioned wanting to turn in the future. I'm worried that she'll resent me."
Alice sighed. "That's not a new fear for you Rose," she said. "You already said she planned on turning in the future, not right away. She has plenty of time to see us, at our best and our worst. If she doesn't change her mind, then you know this is what she truly wants. You need to trust her."
Rosalie nodded. "You're right," she said. "I do trust her. I… I don't want her to be lonely. The only friend she can truly talk to will remain here and eventually die."
"We have phones Rosalie," Alice pointed out. "She can call Angela and Paul. We can even arrange visits after her newborn phase."
"You're right," Rosalie said again. She really liked having Alice to talk to. She always pointed out the things she overlooked. "Add those to the cart. She likes long sleeves." Alice added three. One in black, one in blue and one in white. "That's good for now. She's already going to be upset by the amount of clothes we got her."
Alice shook her head. "She won't be mad. She's starting to get more comfortable with us spending money on her. At this point she realizes she doesn't have much of a choice with Charlie in Alaska and her house burned to the ground. Although she does prefer your clothes," she added thoughtfully.
"Edward has a lot to answer for," Rosalie said with a growl.
"He does," Alice agreed.
Rosalie eyed her sister. "Did you see something?"
"I'm starting to see more and more," Alice replied. "He didn't want me to know about his plans regarding Bella. Now there's no reason to hide. That and I think he didn't have real plans until now."
"Alice," Rosalie started.
"I don't know," Alice said cutting her off. "Believe me if I knew, I would tell you. He hadn't been planning on when, just what."
"And?" Rosalie pressed. Alice knew something and Rosalie was determined to figure it out.
"I really don't know much," Alice told her. "But as of now, he wants to use Victoria as a distraction. You killed James and she wants revenge. I believe they were mated. She can't get to Bella because of Edward and the rest of us so she's settling with killing you. My guess, because I don't actually know yet, is that Victoria will attack you and Edward will try to grab Bella. This time, he'll try harder to get her."
Rosalie put her head in her hands. There was only one real solution. "So, we let Victoria attack me. I kill her and someone steps in to stop Edward from getting Bella."
"I would like to help with that," Carlisle announced walking into the room with Esme beside him.
Everyone looked up at the sound of Carlisle's voice. "Carlisle," Rosalie started.
Carlisle held up his hand to stop Rosalie. "You gave me the chance to try to save Edward," he started. "I see now that there is no chance for him. I turned him, and now he a danger to us and Bella. It is my duty to help end him."
"I'm sorry Carlisle," Rosalie said. And she truly meant it. Now that she had sired her own vampire, she understood what Carlisle felt for all of them. There was always a part of her that was worried about Charlie and wondering how he was doing. Part of that was simply because he was Bella's father but there was a deeper connection between them.
"It's not your fault Rose," Carlisle said before pulling her into a hug. "All you did was find your mate. Never apologize for that. Not to me and certainly not to Edward."
"Thank you Carlisle," Rosalie said.
Bella got up and walked over to Rosalie. She wrapped her arms around Rosalie's waist. "Is everything okay?" Bella asked, having not heard their conversation.
"It's good Bella," Rosalie promised. "Carlisle and I were just bonding."
"It's going to work," Alice said suddenly. "Edward knows he's out of time. This will be his last chance and he knows that."
"Is he giving up?" Carlisle asked hopeful.
Alice shook her head. "No, he won't give up," she answered. "But he knows we're done with trying to help him. He will get Bella or die trying."
"I'm more than happy to make that a reality for him," Rosalie snarled.
"Patience Rosalie," Alice warned. "You will get your chance with him but you need to play your part first."
"What part is that?" Paul asked. He decided now was the time to join the conversation. He tried to stay out of it. Though he was close to Bella and friends with Rosalie and Jasper. He wasn't part of the coven. He wasn't family.
"Rosalie will lure Victoria in," Alice answered, not at all bothered by Paul's involvement. "Jasper will need to take care of her. Her gift will make it too hard for anyone else to get close." She frowned. "His future disappeared," she muttered. She quickly searched through the future, needing to know Jasper would be safe. She sighed in relief. "I believe Paul or one of the other wolves intervenes. Jasper is still alive in the future."
"It has to be me," Paul said. "The others are trying to stay out of this as much as possible. They want to be prepared but they won't fight unless the tribe is threatened. Sam did give me permission to help and I will. But…"
"You want to protect Angela," Rosalie finished.
"Yes," Paul said honestly. It was stupid to lie. The two of them may be mortal enemies but in a way, they were the same. Both wanted to protect their mates from threats. "My scent is all over Angela. If something happens… she may be a target."
"I'll keep her safe," Esme said. Paul's eyes went to Esme. "I'm not much of a fighter and despite everything. I cannot help destroy Edward." Paul didn't blame her even if he wanted to. He was her son in a way. "But I can help protect Bella and Angela. I want to help protect them." She looked first at Paul and then at Paul.
The two exchanged looks and then nodded. "Thank you Esme," Rosalie said. With any luck, no one would get close to Bella or Angela, so Esme didn't have to defend them. "Alice?"
"No one will get close to them," Alice said after a quick check into the future.
"Alright, this is what we're going to do," Jasper said, taking a seat at the table.