Author Note : Wow! This chapter is quite long, at around 10,000 words, but I hope you enjoy it! There is some violence and language during the first flashback, so if that isn't your thing, you may want to skip over some of it. I put a flashback warning as it begins to let you know. Let me know what you all think of this one!
Disclaimer - I don't own Twilight or it's Characters.
Chapter 7.
Marcus ran as fast as he could, his entire chest aching with Bella's pain. He shouldn't have ignored it earlier. He had just thought she was processing everything. She did tell him she needed time.
"OOF!" Felix grunted as Marcus shoved him into a wall in the corridor when he got in the kings way.
The large vampire had just been leaving the Volturi library where Demetri and himself were telling Alec about the night guard they were being punished to do since Felix hid his mating to Gianna. Dust flew into the air around the vampire as he made an indent in the wall.
"What the hell!" He exclaimed as he righted himself.
"Something has happened to Bella!" Heidi barked at them as she continued to follow her king and queens.
Demetri quickly caught up with his mate, Felix and Alec following. Marcus burst through his bedroom door and made his way to the office, seeing his mate sitting on the floor under the window seat, her knees pulled to her chest as she faced away from him slightly, hiding her face. Corin was on her knees in front of the human with her hands holding Bella's, whispering to her quietly.
"You're ok, Miss Bella. You are in Volturi and you are safe. Whatever you see isn't real." Corin repeated the words to Bella over and over as she pumped every ounce of her power into the human, trying to make her calm and content.
Marcus was at their side in less then a second, kneeling down with them. "Isabella?" He asked as he reached his hand for her cheek.
As soon as the back of his fingers made contact with her cheek, her head lifted and turned to him. Big brown eyes, bloodshot with tears stared at him, and her pink lips trembled.
"Marcus!" She exclaimed as she flung herself into his arms sobbing, feeling the all consuming warmth wrap around her as her skin tingled where ever it touched him.
He caught her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his lap. He heard a gasp and glanced up at his brothers who had followed him. It had been Athenodora who had made the noise, her hand to her mouth as she stared at Bella's back. The towel Bella had worn wrapped around herself had came loose and fallen to the floor, revealing deep claw marks scarred into her pale skin. Quite a few bite marks were scattered across her shoulder, bites from their kind.
Athenodora turned her body, tucking herself into Caius's side, who stood stiff staring at the scarred human before them. Her hand automatically found its way to his chest, over his heart, where she felt rough marks in his skin, his own scars.
"Oh Bella." Aro murmured sadly as he pressed his hands into a point in front of his mouth.
Victoria hadn't witnessed these scars in her memories. Sulpicia stood by his side, seething in anger, a hiss leaving her lips. She hadn't met Bella yet, hadn't even been introduced, but Sulpicia was an extremely loyal woman. Even without a proper introduction, she was angry at whoever had the audacity to harm her future sister. She'd already lost Didyme and would not go through that again.
The guards stared in shock and anger at the display before them. This human was to be their new Queen one day, she is their Master's soulmate. And someone had mutilated her skin. Not only their kind, but some mutt! Felix's chest rumbled in a growl as he shifted his body weight foot to foot. Alec pressed a hand to his shoulder to ground him, even though he was smaller. Heidi whimpered, her hand covering her lips as she saw the damage her new friend had hidden from her earlier. Demetri wrapped an arm around her waist, already preparing to track down those responsible for the harm done to his new Queen.
Marcus's own chest rumbled, startling Bella, as he ran his hand from the smooth skin at Bella's neck down her back. He felt the rough spots, the teeth indents, and the long deep lines made from claws. Corin shot a look of warning to Marcus as she increased her gift on Bella, placing her hand on the humans warm shoulder.
"Shhhh, it's ok, Miss Bella. Everything is fine. You are safe." Corin told the human.
Bella's body relaxed into Marcus. Everyone froze as the wolves outside the window howled again, many of them stringing together. To some people, it would sound like a beautiful song. Many humans in Volturi loved the sound, some even recording it to sleep by. But Caius, and now Bella it seems, detested the noise. Bella let out a loud wail as she tried leaving Marcus's arms, scratching at his skin and doing more damage to her own unmanicured nails then she could ever do to him.
"Bella! Shhhh, it's ok, Bella." Corin tried calming the human whose shielding ability was hard to get through.
"Someone shut those Mutts up NOW!" Cauis roared at the guards.
Felix and Demetri left immediately and a few moments later everyone heard a few yelps that choked off into silence. Bella whimpered and Marcus pulled her tighter into him. Her body had began to shake but she didn't feel cold.
"She's going into shock." Sulpicia said. "Alec, start a fire to help warm her up." She ordered.
Alec immediately began putting some wood in the fireplace, using a match from the mantle, hot orange flames were roaring in minutes.
"We had just been finishing up her shopping when the wolves howled. They frightened and she just began screaming!" Heidi whispered to the others in the room. "We couldn't get through to her at all." She finished.
"She was calming down, you saw that right before you arrived. Before those blasted wolves started up again." Corin said too quietly for Bella to hear.
"It seems the shifter wolves did much more then just burn down her house." Aro murmured sadly.
"I'm sorry." A tearful voice spoke up suddenly. "I keep seeing everything happen, things keep triggering it. I don't know how to make it stop." Bella whispered as tears fell from her doe eyes.
For some reason, her gaze fell upon Caius. The king who'd been quite rude to her upon their first meeting. He didn't look at her in disgust now. He held a look of anger in his eyes but his face softened as she gazed at him.
"Bring her to one of the couches, Marcus and get out of the floor." The blonde king huffed out at his brother.
Bella's eyes swung back to Marcus as he picked her up easily and walked her to one of the black leather seats. His ruby eyes stared back at her, they looked tortured and dark. She didn't know how to make him feel better.
"Heidi, Alec!" Aro called. "Leave us." He ordered the two guard who bowed and headed for the door, Heidi looking back sadly at Bella until Alec ushered her away.
Marcus sat Bella on the couch facing the flames, tucking her into his side. His brothers sat on the two couches facing each other, their mates with them. Corin knelt on front of Bella, taking her hands once again.
"Skin contact seems to help with my gift with her." Corin explained quietly to Marcus as he eyed her.
"Your gift does work on her!" Aro exclaimed.
"It doesn't work as well on her as it does on everyone else." Corin smiled up at Bella. "Your shield is very strong. I have to fight it just to let you feel a hint of my gift. It's quite amazing."
Bella blushed as everyone in the room looked at her, studying her. She vaguely felt something that felt like a pressure to her skull.
"Amore mio." Marcus murmured getting her attention.
(Translation - My Love)
Bella gazed up at him as he ran one finger over the claw marks that extended over her shoulder and down her chest a bit. His gaze was dark and his other arm tightened around her.
"What led to these?" That one question from him sent a shot of pain through his chest as Bella's eyes filled with tears again, her shield naturally tapering down Corin's gift.
Aro leaned forward from his couch and informed Bella. "I have read Victoria's mind. I saw all her wrongdoings." His gaze fell to her wolf scars. "But not those."
Bella whimpered and Corin decided to put the psychology degrees she got online during a bored time in her life to good use.
"Miss Bella," Corin started. "You mentioned earlier being triggered and having flashbacks. And not being able to stop it. Did you know that talking about trauma can help you process it? Talking about it can help you release all the hurt and fear in a safe environment." She said gently.
Caius huffed and rolled his eyes from his place. "Not this psychological mumbo jumbo stuff again." He moaned causing Bella to look at the blonde king.
"I think it helped me quite a bit!" Aro exclaimed happily. "I always feel so relaxed after a session with Corin." He praised.
"That's because of her gift you moron!" Caius barked at Aro.
"How dare you call me names you, you tyrant!" Aro raged back.
"Both of you shut up!" Sulpicia hissed.
"I'm terribly sorry about them Isabella." Athenodora apologize for the two kings. "Since they aren't going to introduce us though, I'm Athenodora but please call me Dora." The ashy blonde smiled at the human.
"I'd say they weren't normally like this Isabella." Sulpicia told her. "But that would be a lie. They're incapable of acting their own age." The curly brown haired vampire rolled her eyes. "I am Sulpicia, Aro's mate, unfortunately." She sighed.
"Sulpicia!" Aro was wounded as his hand touched his chest.
"Oh hush!" Sulpicia murmured taking his hand in hers to placate him.
Marcus sighed and rubbed his forehead with his free hand as his brothers bickered. He glanced down at his mate and suddenly didn't mind his brothers so much as he saw the amused look in her eyes. She giggled causing the vampires to all stop and turn to her, they hadn't really seen her smile yet.
"I'm sorry." She blushed as she looked down. "I've just never seen vampires act like you. Not even the Cullen's were so comfortable?" She phrased it more questiongly then she meant. "I just mean they didn't really let me see them act like normal people...or tease each other. They acted so perfect, like statues." She murmured. "You can call me Bella though, if you'd like?" She said meekly.
Athenodora beamed at the human. "It's lovely to make your acquaintance, Bella!"
"Yes, we are quite happy that you're here. We were hassling Marcus earlier to meet you. We're beginning to think he just doesn't want to share you." Sulpicia teased raising a thin eyebrow.
"And why wouldn't I want to keep such a bellezza to myself"? Marcus purred as he twirled a piece of her long hair around his finger.
(Translation - beauty)
Bella's face flamed and her body warmed at the way Marcus gazed at her. She didn't know many Italian words, but she did understand that one. She didn't think she was very beautiful at all, did he forget about her scars already. She kept those thoughts to herself though. A squeeze to her hands brought her attention back to Corin.
"Are you feeling better, Miss Bella?" Corin asked with a gentle smile.
"I am, thank you Corin." Bella smiled back. "I'm glad your gift could help. I can actually feel something, almost like a small pressure, to my head when you use it. That's never happened before."
"That's your shield, Isabella!" Aro clapped his hands. "Corin did say she had to fight it to make her gift effective." He was excited.
"I did, Bella. That's why I'm keeping skin contact. It's making it easier." Corin explained.
"I never felt the pressure this way before." Bella scrunched her eyebrows down.
"Perhaps you can tell us about your time with the Cullen's, and the effect their gifts had on you." Marcus murmured to her, his cinnamon scent blowing over her skin as he spoke.
She inhaled it greedily but ducked her head embarrassed when Athenodora giggled. Bella sighed and took another deep breath, steeling her nerves as she prepared to talk about the family who abandoned her.
"Someone obviously told you about Victoria and myself. So you have to know about some of my time with the Cullen's?" She asked hesitantly.
"Yes." Aro answer her carefully. "Someone did come to Volterra and they reported you to us, along with Victoria and her newborns. They explained you were connected to the Cullens, had even dated one. But you were left behind...human. which breaks our laws." He explained.
Bella squeezed Corin's hands this time as she glanced around the room, seeing all eyes in her waiting.
"I met the Cullen's in school when I was seventeen. They were different and I saw that immediately. They were all so pale and their features so perfect, every one of them. And they all had eyes that fluctuated between gold and black. Sometimes they'd have dark circles under their eyes like they hadn't slept in months." Bella began. "My friend, J-Jessica," Bella stuttered over the name and Marcus tightened his arm around her. "she told me how they were related, and which ones were dating, she thought it was strange since they were a family. My friend Angela" Bella's eyes teared up. "she defended the Cullen's saying they weren't actually related...I didn't understand how no one else picked up on the oddities surrounding the Cullens like how they never ate food or always went "camping" when it was sunny to avoid school."
"I told you years ago, Aro, that those Bambi munchers were drawing entirely too much attention to themselves!" Caius huffed.
"Yes, brother, I know. And you're completely right." Aro agreed.
"You have to know how preposterous they are! I mean, going to school-" Caius cut himself off. "Did you just agree with me a moment ago?" The blonde king was puzzled.
"Yes, brother, I did. I think I have let Carlisle play human entirely too long, and we need to put a stop to it soon." Aro was firm in his decision.
"Not even going to defend your dear friend, Carlisle?" Caius hissed leaning forward.
"My mate was clear in his answer Caius, stop trying to pick a fight. Now's not the time." Sulpicia barked at the blonde.
Caius sat back beside Athendora a bit stumped, the ashy blonde patting his hand.
"Please continue, Mia Bella." Marcus murmured to his mate.
"Edward switched between talking to me and then telling me we shouldn't be friends, it only made me more curious. Then one day, he used his speed to save me from a van sliding on ice. He claimed I was seeing things but I knew that he wasn't normal. One of the s-shifters," Bella's voice trembled. "while still human, told me about their legends involving the cold ones. I had grown up with him, Jacob, in the summers but lived in Phoenix with my m-mom." Bellas eyes teared up and Marcus placed his hand over her heart as his own ached. "I ended up finding a book about the legends after that, and confronted Edward who showed me hus strength, speed and skins reaction to the sun. The family accepted me, except for Rosalie. They treated me like I belonged." Bella scoffed. "While playing baseball, three nomads heard the noise and came to investigate. Victoria's mate, James, was a tracker and thought it would be a fun game to hunt me. Alice and her mate Jasper tried hiding me in Phoenix, but James tricked me into thinking he had my m-mom, and I refused to let him hurt her. I met him at my old ballet studio, he attacked me and hurt me badly. Then he bit me." Her hand went to her wrist, covering up her first vampire bite. "The Cullen's arrived and Edward sucked the venom from my arm to keep me human. I vaguely recall seeing Jasper rip James's head off and burning him. Victoria blamed me for his death, and it was Jasoer that killed him. Not me." Bella murmured.
"On my eighteenth birthday, Alice threw me a party. I got a paper cut, and Jasper attacked me. It was made worse when Edward pushed me into a table of plates, cutting my arm open." She showed them the scar on her upper arm as Marcus's chest grumbled with a growl. "Jasper could feel all of their bloodlust, though. So I don't blame him. It had to be unbearable feeling the thirst of six other vampires. Edward broke up with me and left me in the forrest a few days later. His family didn't even say goodbye." Her eyes teared up. "Sam, one of the w-wolves," Bella sneered his name. "found me and took me home. I was depressed but Jacob made me feel better. I found out about the wolves after they saved me from Victoria's coven mate, Laurent, when he came to scout for her and decided to drain me instead. The wolves started to protect me." Pain shot through Bella's chest again and Marcus's gasped beside her as he felt it in his heart too.
"But they failed at protecting other people." Bella sobbed.
"It's ok, Miss Bella." Corin soothed.
Marcus pulled Bella back onto his lap, murmuring soothing words to her. Corin kept one hand on Bella's shoulder as she took Bella's place on the couch.
"It started with my friends. Victoria left Jessica on my front lawn, she wasn't even drained, just butchered. A couple days later, Mike was left, I worked with him at his parents sporting good store. The towns people were angry, they thought I had something to do with my friends deaths, and they were right I guess. Angela was left last. The wolves were getting frustrated with the deaths." Tears fell from Bella's eyes. "And then, Victoria finally attacked me a couple days later." Bella's eyes glazed over.
Flashback Beginning
She could vaguely hear words pouring from her lips as she spoke to the vampires surrounding her. But she wasn't in the room with them any longer.
She was back in her bedroom in Forks, sitting on her purple bedspread Charlie had bought for her, her twinkle lights shining from the wall where they hung and a small handmade dream catcher on her headboard.
A basket of forgotten laundry was sat on the floor as she flipped through the photo album her mom bought her for her eighteenth birthday. She'd be nineteen soon, a whole year gone and nothing but chaos and bloodshed to show for it. Her eyes were wet with tears as she ran her fingers over a picture of her friends at school that she took the day she got the camera, her moonstone ring glinting like a real moon as the twinkle lights shined on it.
Faraway howls sounded, making Bella glance up and sigh. The wolves were trying their hardest to catch Victoria, but they hadn't succeeded. And they were becoming frustrated with her too, they were blaming her, she could feel it in their eyes when they stared a bit too long at her.
A crash sounded making Bella jump as her window broke and shards of glass flew all around her and the room, making her scream as she fell off the bed and duck her head down in fear.
When she glanced up, she screamed a blood curdling scream as she stared into her mothers blue eyes. Her brown curly hair framed her face that had smears of blood on it. Her smile lines weren't showing, because Renne couldn't smile. Dismembered heads couldn't do that.
Bella gagged staring at the ripped skin of her mother's neck. Bella heard a high-pitched girlish giggle from outside her room. She made her way to her feet clumsily and ran outside to the hallway, talking the stairs two at a time. Close to the bottom she tripped and landed roughly on the floor, scraping her palms in the process.
Before she could stand on her own, she was jerked from the floor by her hair making her yelp. Her body was twisted around so her back slammed into the cold, hard vampire behind her and one of their arms slip around her waist to hold her. They buried their face in her neck and inhaled her scent. As the front door opened and Victoria step inside the home into the living room, Bella realized there was a new strange vampire behind her.
"She smells sooo good!" A male voice moaned close to her ear.
"Give her to me!" Victoria ordered immediately, glaring at the vampire behind her.
"I just need a little taste." He murmured as he buried his face in her neck again.
"Now!" Victoria barked. "Hand her over!"
The male growled and shoved Bella into Victoria making her gasp in pain as her body felt like it collided with a stone rock.
"Hello, Bella." Victoria smiled sinisterly at the human.
Bella whimpered and tried getting out of Victoria's grip, slamming her palms against the redheads chest to try pushing her away. Her hands left smears of blood on Victoria where she'd caught herself after falling down the stairs.
"Oh!" Victoria's eyes darkened as she saw the red droplets.
The redhead grabbed Bella's wrist and jerked her hand up to her ruby lips, snaking her tongue out to collect the blood. Bella hissed as the vampires venom got in the wound and was shocked to see her skin start to heal quickly.
"Victoria!" The male barked sharply as he paced. "I'm thirsty." He growled.
"Get off me!" Bella yelped as Victoria licked her other hand to clean the blood off it too.
"No!" Victoria growled. "I won't. I've waited soooo long." She hissed. "And now I have you. I'm going to make you scream like my James did when your coven murdered him."
"I don't have a coven!" Bella screamed. "They left! What's killing me going to do? I'm human! I couldn't have even hurt James."Bella cried out as Victoria ran her sharp fingernail down Bella's chest, cutting the skin deeply and letting blood spill out.
"If it wasn't for you he would still be here!" Victoria roared at the human. "He wanted your blood and since he didn't succeed in draining it from your body, I'll have to it for him."
Victoria lent down and licked the blood off Bella's chest, the venom burning her as it sealed the wound. Victoria giggled as she turned Bella around.
A new body stepped in front of her, a boy with blonde hairand bright red eyes. He was familiar to her. She'd seen his picture recently as a missing person, Riley Biers. Her father was looking for Riley but hadn't been able to find any leads. Riley's eyes turned pitch black as he smelled the blood. He leaned forward towards her growling, his mouth opening and baring his teeth.
"Ah, ah, Riley." Victoria tutted. "You have to be careful with her, we don't want her to die to quickly. But we don't want her to change either. Don't inject any venom." She ordered the boy.
"I know, Victoria!" He barked back causing her to growl. "Please, she smells so good." Riley begged.
"Then come have a taste." Victoria purred.
Bella scremed and jerked her body, trying to get away from Victoria. Riley pressed up against her front though, sandwiching her between the two vampires. She sobbed as Riley lowered his head to her shoulder, biting down hard as he began to drink her blood.
Victoria laughed behind her as Bella whimpered. Riley moaned and clutched Bella tighter to himself until Victoria shoved him away roughly, making the mark on Bellas neck ragged looking as the skin ripped.
"It's my turn!" She growled at Riley as she licked the mark on Bellas neck sealing the wound.
"Please stop!" Bella begged as her legs gave out but Victoria held her up.
The redhead toughly jerked Bella's head the other way making her neck pop. Bella cried out as the vampire sunk her teeth into her neck and began to suck. She tried wiggling away from the vampire, but Riley stepped up to her again and sunk his teeth into her collarbone as he thirsted for her blood again. Bella was getting lightheaded, the world slipping away, when a new voice brought her back to life.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Her father screamed from the doorway as he took his gun out and shot at the people with their necks latched onto his daughter.
The bullet ricocheted off them, hitting him in the arm instead. As his blood leaked from his arm, Victoria released Bella and darted over to Charlie. She knocked the gun away from him and wrapped him in her arms as she turned him to face Bella.
"Maybe we should see if daddy dearest raster as good as you Isabella!" Victoria snarled as she pressed her bloody lips on to Charlie's neck and bit down.
The man screamed and tried to kick backwards at the redhead but it was like hitting a brick wall. Riley moaned at watching Victoria feed and couldn't help but lick the blood from Bella's neck, where her newest wounds still bled after Charlie has interrupted them.
"Dad!" Bella cried out. "Let him go! Please!" She begged as she tried ripping herself from Riley's grasp. "The wolves are gonna kill you, you bitch!" Bella sneered at Victoria as tears fell from her eyes.
Riley snarled and jerked her back into him. Victoria released Charlie's neck, licking the wound closed as the man hissed in pain.
"Those mutts are too busy collecting the pieces of their pack members to help you!" Victoria cackled and Bella's heart dropped.
"Who the hell are you people? What are you?" Her father asked helplessly as he couldn't remove himself from the redheads arms.
"You really are clueless aren't you." Victoria laughed in Charlie's ear. "We're vampires, Mr. Swan. And we're going to kill you today, all because of your daughter."
"I'm so sorry." Bella sobbed. "Kill me but not him, please." She begged Victoria.
"Shut up, Bella! Don't you dare touch her." Charlie barked at Riley. "You're the ones whs killed those kids." He stated.
"Yeah, it was fun too." Riley smiled evily at Charlie as he ran his finger across Bella's neck drawing blood that he licked off as she whimpered.
"You're Riley Biers." The chief recognized him. "I helped search for you." Charlie said angrily.
"I found Riley in Seattle and since he knew the area of Forks so well decided to change him." Victoria purred in Charlie's ear as she gazed at Riley.
"Why do you want us dead?" Charkie asked.
"Because it's your daughters fault that my mate is dead!" Victoria roared as she squeezed the human too hard, crushing his ribs and making him scream.
"Dad!" Bella cried out as her father writhed in pain.
"Her and those Cullens. They killed him. Just for going after our natural food source." Victoria snarled as she bit Charlie's neck again to sip his blood.
Charlie gasped in pain as his crushed bones ached.
"Riley, you should taste him." Victoria purred as she unlatched her teeth. "He's almost as good as her." She laughed.
Riley quickly dragged Bella over to the other two and forcefully dug his teeth in the man's neck. Victoria grabbed Bella's hair and jerked her neck to the side, digging her teeth into the girl's skin again. Riley released the male and licked his lips.
"I think I'll have to taste her again to compare." He grinned at the redhead as she released Bella and Riley bit into the same spot.
"Get off her!" Charlie yelled and grabbed Riley by his hair trying to pull him back.
With a flick of Riley's wrist, he'd broken Charlie's arm causing the human man to scream. The bone was sticking out of Charlie's arm and blood gushed onto the floor from torn skin.
A loud howl from outside the house stopped the drinking fest the two vampires had started.
"Those mangy mutts!" Victoria snarled.
"Let's just kill the humans now and get it over with." Riley told the redhead.
"No!" Victoria barked. "She hasn't been punished enough."
"Well there's four big ass wolves outside so what do you propose we do, Victoria!?"" Riley snarled.
Victoria's gift was going haywire yelling her to run. Her newborns were meant to keep the wolves busy, where were they!
"Jacob!" Bella screamed holing the russet wolf was one of the wolves outside. "Charlie's in here!"
She heard a snarl from outside and a yip. Charlie was not doing well, the pain and blood loss had made him weak and quiet.
"Victoria!" Riley called looking towards her for answers.
Victoria shoved the human male at Riley and ran out the back door trying to evade the wolves, she would come back for Bella.
Riley snarled and drug the humans outside. "Victoria!" He screamed.
A small lean grey wolf, Leah, slammed into Riley making him release the humans so he could kick the mutt off. He began to run after Victoria, Leah and another larger wolf with brown fur and dark grey marking around its eyes, Jared, ran after him.
"Bella!" Jacob's voice called out as she ran over to hover above Charlie who had screamed when Riley dropped him.
"Shit!" Another voice exclaimed. "The chiefs been bit, he's changing!" It was Paul and his body was shimmering with rage.
"No!" Bella exclaimed. "He's not changing, he's just hurt! They just drank from us."
"Well they left too much venom in him sweetheart!" Paul sneered as Charlie screamed when Jacob moved him inspecting the marks.
Another wolf ran into the yard watching the scene for a moment and listening to Paul. It was grey with black spots. It morphed into a naked Embry Call.
"Sam said not to let Charlie become a vampire." Embry's words were met with a wail from Bella.
"He's not changing!" She screamed at the boys as she covered Charlie with her body to protect him.
Paul jerked her away from her father.
"Do you hear him screaming!" He roared in her face. "That's the venom. He's going to be a bloodsucking leech like the rest of them." Spit flew from his clenched teeth as he spoke.
"Paul!" Jacob barked as he pried Bella from the other man's grasp.
"Quil's dead, Jacob!" Embry yelled out as his body quivered. His words quieted the group.
"What?" Jacob whispered.
"One of those new vampires bit him." Embry sobbed. "And he just convulsed and quit moving."
Jacob pulled his hair as he yelled out in anguish.
"Well, we're not letting another bloodsucking be made!" Paul barked angrily as he headed towards Charlie and expertly phased as he took a step forward, his two legs becoming four.
"No!" Bella screamed and ran forward shoving at Paul's wolf as he grew closer to her father. "Don't you dare touch him!"
A large hand grabbed her by the only part they could get a hold of as she flailed around and hit their pack member. The hand jerked her back and she fell on her butt at their feet. She glanced up to see Jake's russet face.
"It won't be Charlie anymore, Bella!" He yelled at her with wet cheeks from his tears.
"Screw you, Jacob!" She screamed at him and smacked him in the face. "Get off me!"
Bella wailed as she turned just in time to see the large silver wolf claw at Charlie's face. Her father's screams rang out with vigor as the wolf's claws mauled his skin.
"Dad!" Bella screamed as she scratched and clawed at Jacob's hands. "Get off him!" She lunged towards Paul only for Embry to catch her arm.
"Shut up, Bella!" He screamed in her face. "Just shut up!" Embry shook her shoulders as he yelled at her, his angular face full of rage.
Bella spit in his face. "Fuck you!" She screamed at him.
Embry reared his arm back in anger.
"Embry, no!" Jacob called out as he came towards them.
The angry boys arm came forward and his fist struck Bella on her cheek. He reared his hand back this time and as it came forward to smack her, it morphed into a paw. Bella cried out and reared her head back as she turned away from the wolf. The claws slammed into her chest, sliding backwards over her shoulder and down her back.
"Bella!" Jacob exclaimed as he morphed into a russet wolf and knocked Embry's wolf away from her.
"What the fuck!" A new male voice roared.
Bella glanced up through the pounding in her head to see a naked Jared Cameron running towards them. A small silver wolf morphed behind him into Leah and she quickly jerked a dress on from her ankle strap.
"Bella!" The older girl dropped to her knees and pulled Bella into her lap.
"Charlie!" Bella wailed out and the yard got quiet.
Charlie's gasps of pain become a gurgle and cut off as his body became still.
"Noooo!" Bella screamed and sobbed as she tried crawling across the yard to him, her fingers digging into the dirt and grass.
"We're not supposed to hurt humans!" Jared roared at Paul who phased back, blood marring his skin.
"He'd been bitten!" Paul defended himself.
Jared shoved Paul hard and the latter fell to the ground.
"Bella, are you ok!?" Jacob's warm hands landed on her face as he came to her side after Embry had tucked tail and ran back to the reservation.
"Don't touch me!" She exclaimed jerking away.
"Get back!" Leah punched Jacob in the face making the younger boy take a few steps away as his nose spurted blood. "Jared, Bella needs a doctor!" She exclaimed.
"The hospital will ask too many questions!" Jacob exclaimed shaking his head and pulling his hair.
"Take her to your mom!" Jared ordered Leah.
"She's not equipped for this!" Leah exclaimed.
"She's a nurse, she the best we have right now!" Jared barked as he took large steps to their side.
He lifted Bella into his warm arms and ran towards the driveway with Leah following.
"Hey!" Paul yelled after them. "You can't just leave us here with all this!" He exclaimed waving his arms around the bloody yard.
"Fuck you Paul!" Jared roared back as he slid Bella into her truck. "Stay with her while I find her keys!" He barked at Leah as he ran in the Swan's house.
"Charlie!" Bella cried as she tried getting out of the truck again.
"Bella!" Leah exclaimed grabbing her. "He's gone! He's gone." Leah told Bella as she held the sobbing girl covered in blood. "I'm sorry, so sorry." Leah sobbed out as her own tears fell.
Jared jerked the driver door open and slid inside the cab slamming the door back closed behind him. He flung some towels at Leah and started the truck. The tires squealed taking off.
"Put pressure on her wounds!" He ordered Leah.
"Who's blood is that?" Leah whispered after pressing the towels to Bellas back.
Leah stared at his bloody feet that held a different scent. "Jared?" She asked again when he ignored her.
Jared's hands tightened on the steering wheel until the metal groaned in protest.
"I slipped on some in her bedroom looking for her keys." Jared told Leah. "Then I found her mom's head." He choked out.
Leah gasped as Bella wailed out again.
"You can't be sure, you haven't met Ren-" Leah started.
"The head matched the picture on the mantle of a happy couple holding Bella as a baby!" Jared barked.
Leah backed down and squeezed Bella tighter into her side.
"Fuck!" Jared slammed his hand on the dash cracking it as his face was filled with anguish.
The truck was silent for a few moments besides Bella's gasping sobs.
"My mom was seeing Charlie." Leah stated as she covered her mouth with one hand to hide her trembling lips. "I caught them in a lip lock last week. Just last week! Mom made me swear not to tell anyone until Charlie had a chance to tell Bella." She choked as she spoke her next words. "And now I can't stop seeing his face all clawed away." Leah stared at her own hands.
Jared's heads snapped to Leah as he watched her hands shake. She stared at them and he knew what she was remember because it was still running through his own head too. When they were phased, they got a first person point of view from Paul's mind. It was almost as if they had been the ones to kills Charlie.
Jared clenched his teeth and shoved the thoughts from his head. "Leah, I need you to keep it together right now." He told the she wolf gently. "Ok? I need you to check Bella's wounds. We'll need to tell Sue how many she has when we get there." Jared saw Leah's eyes welling up with tears. "Leah!" He stated more forcefully.
"Ok, ok!" She gasped out as her hands flitted over Bella.
She removed the towel and saw the jagged claw marks. They had stopped bleeding so much. They started out shallow around Bella's chest, getting deeper where they dug into her shoulder, and shallow again down her back.
"The claw marks aren't bleeding too badly." Leah told Jared. "Her face is pretty bruised." Leah winced as a flash went through her head of Embry's memories after he'd phased, he had struck the poor girl. "But she has a lot of bite marks." She whispered. "Like the ones on her wrist from that nomad."
"Yeah, like the kind that doesn't change you. Like the same damn kind Charlie had!" Jared sounded slightly hysterical as he ran his hand through his hair.
Leah choked on a sob as she applied the towels back to Bella's skin. Jared slammed on the truck breaks as they slid into the Clearwater's driveway. Sue opened the door at the commotion she heard, her eyes bloodshot from crying over the news she'd gotten.
"I just heard about Quil, Collin, and Brady!" She exclaimed and then stopped seeing the pale brunette covered in blood that Jared pulled from the orange truck. "What happened?" She cried out rushing towards them.
"We need to get her inside now!" Jared barked as he passed by Sue and shoved the door open with his foot.
Leah slammed her body into her mom's, sobbing into her chest like she did as a child whenever something ailed her.
"What happened, Leah?" Sue questioned as she turned her daughters face up to look at her.
"Sue!" Jared yelled. "I need bandages! And something to clean these wounds with."
"Charlie's dead." Leah sobbed out.
Ice went through Sue's veins at the news. She was not expecting that. "W-what?" She choked out.
"Paul killed him!" Her daughter whimpered out while staring at her own hands in shock.
"Mom!" A new voice yelled from the woods as Seth ran from the trees.
"Seth!" She called tearfully as she hugged him.
"What's going on?" Seth questioned Leah. "Sam won't tell me anything, he just sent me home. But Embry just showed up covered in Bella's blood!" The young man exclaimed.
A hand grabbed Sue by the shoulder and twirled her around. Jared stared back at her.
"Embry is covered in blood because he attacked Bella!" He informed Sue who covered her mouth in shock. "You need to help her."
"Oh spirits!" Sue exclaimed rushing into her home.
Jared ushered her into the living room where Bella laid on the couch looking comatose. Emily's face flashed through her mind as Sue stared at the clawed up skin on Bella's chest. Her training kicked into action as some of the shock from all of terrible news tonight started to wear off.
"Seth!" She called. "Go into the hall closet and get my emergency medical bag now!" She ordered as she removed the towel from Bella's neck and back. "Leah, go get clean cloths, clothes, and some hot water." She told her daughter. "I don't know what to do for these." She told Jared as she ran her hand over a cold bite mark that had been sealed.
"Then don't worry about them." Jared knelt down by her side. "They're healed like the one on her wrist and she's not changing into a vampire. That's all that matters." He said.
"What happened?" Sue questioned with a shaky hand in front of her mouth. "Jared, what happened tonight?" She cried out.
Jared ran his hands over his eyes as he tried to hold in his own sobs. Sue softened towards him, she sometimes forgot how young the pack still was.
"Please Jared, walk me through it." She murmured to him.
Jared took a deep breath and began. "Victoria attacked Brady, just tore him to pieces before the pup had a chance to fight back. And then a whole group of vampires came out of the trees. There had to be 15 of them at least!" He exclaimed with wide eyes. "We started fighting them and didn't even notice when Victoria left. One of the vampires got to Collin." Jared clenched his teeth at the memory of the young pups neck cracking. "We killed some of them, a few ran off and we couldn't chase them down. I smelt the scent of Victoria leaving the group, my sense of smell has always been better. Sam ordered some of us to track her down while the rest stayed to deal with B-Brady and Collin." He stuttered the names out. "We tracked it to the Swan house. Victoria and another male vampire had them both inside, we could smell their blood. Victoria ran though, the male followed leaving Charlie and Bella on the grass. We heard Paul claim Charlie was changing through Embry's thoughts as he ran to the Swan house, but Bella denied he was. Sam told Embry not to let Charlie change. And then," Jared paused and sobbed. "before Embry phased to human to tell Paul, we saw Quil get bit by a stray vampire. He didnt make it. Leah and I chased the vampires but we faltered." He cut off covering his mouth. "We faltered because Paul phased and attacked Charlie." He sobbed out finally losing his composure. "There was so much blood! And then Embry phased, he was angry at Bella and had hit her. The second time he went to hit her he phased and clawed her." Jared finished.
Sue had tears streaming down her face as she took Jared into her arms and hugged him.
"Here mom!" Seth sat her bag down beside her and pressed his hand down onto Jared's shoulder as the older wolf bowed his head onto the couch arm and cried.
"I've got everything." Leah hurried into the living room with a pot of hot water and cloths.
Sue took a cloth, wetting it and began to clean the blood from Bella's skin. "I'm going to have to stich these." Sue said quietly looking at the claw marks. "I don't have any sedatives." Her eyes teared up.
"She's pretty out of it." Leah murmured.
"She's in shock." Sue stated.
Jared raised his head to watch Sue work. Leah had sat down on his other side on the floor as Seth stayed on one knee with his hand still on Jared's shoulder. Jared wrapped an arm around Leah's shoulder, giving her silent support. Wolves are pack creatures who like physical touch with each other for comfort, and that's what these three pack members needed right now. Especially since some of their pack members had done unforgivable things.
Sue finished stitching Bella's skin. The girls eyes continued to stare unseeing at the blank TV.
"Jared, Seth." Sue got their attention. "Please leave this room so Leah and I can change Bella's clothes." She requested.
"Of course, mom." Seth said as he helped Jared off the floor and they went out into the porch.
"Bella," Sue turned the pale girls face so she could see her eyes. "Leah and I are going to help change your clothes. Is that ok?" She asked for permission as she took Bella's hand and rubber her fingers over the knuckle.
Bella's watery brown eyes stared into Sue's as the girl nodded her head and squeezed Sue's hand.
"Ok, we're gonna help you sit up." Sue murmured as she pulled Bella's hands and Leah placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to help push her into a sitting position. "Let's change your top first."
Leah had brought some of her own clothes for Bella. The sleeveless shirt was loose on Bella as it slid over her head. But the sweat pants had a drawstring so they fit on Bella's small frame better. Some thick socks adorned her feet, Bella vaguely recognized there were Santa hats on them but Christmas was months away.
"Throw these away Leah.", Sue ordered her daughter and handed her Bella's ragged bloody clothes.
"Thank you." Bella's voice was raspy from all the screaming she had done earlier.
Sue froze and looked down at the pale girl before her. She knelt down in front of Bella and took the girls hands in hers.
"Bella," Sue began trying to find the words to say to the young girl but stopped when Bella's eyes filled with tears.
Sue instead gently pulled Bella into her arms, being mindful of her fresh wounds, and let the girl cry on her shoulder. Sue's own eyes welled with tears. Charlie and her had grown up together, and after Harry died, Charlie had been her rock. She said yes hesitantly when he had asked her out for dinner but she didn't regret it. She had enjoyed the dinner date immensely and they had began seeing each other regularly. But now, just like Harry, he was gone.
"Charlie and you?" Bella sobbed the question out.
"Yes." Sue clenched her teeth trying to keep her composure. "Just for two months, Charlie wasn't sure how to tell his only daughter about us. He'd blush and begin to stutter whenever I asked him if he'd told you." Sue smiled into Bella's hair thinking of Charlie's red face.
"Sounds like something he'd do." Bella laughed and sobbed at the same time but after a moment of quietness, she informed Sue. "R-Renee is gone too." She choked out
Sue raised Bella's head and rubbed her hand down the girls cheek. "I'm going to help you through this Bella, ok? I want to be here for you." She told the young girl.
Before they could continue their conversation, a loud bang echoed through the house as the back door was slammed open and Jacob barreled in with Seth trying to jerk him back by his shoulder. Jacob shoved Seth into the kitchen table, the wood cracked under the boys weight.
"Bella!" Jacob exclaimed as he lumbered towards her.
"No!" Bella wailed out and grabbed Sue tighter. "No, no no."
"You need to leave, Jacob!" Sue ordered him. "Bella obviously doesn't want to see you."
"I didn't do this to you, Bella!" Jacob pulled his hair as he knelt on the floor. "Bella, I love you. I would never hurt you!" He proclaimed.
"You didn't stop him!" Bella wailed out. "You didn't even try to help my d-dad!" She sobbed out.
Two hands jerked Jacob off the floor as Jared came into the living room. Leah ran over to her mom and Sue pushed Bella gently into her daughters arms. The older woman stood up and barged over to Jacob.
"What happened, Jacob? Bella says you didn't help. Why didn't you help?" Sue shoved his chest tearfully.
"I didn't know what to do, Sue!" Jacob yelled. "Charlie was changing, he was screaming out. He'd been bitten."
"Bitten?" Sue asked him. "You mean like those bites?" She waved her arm at Bella's skin. "She's not turning!" Sue exclaimed.
"Charlie was hurt, some of his bones were crushed." Bella whimpered out.
"Bella." Jacob choked her name out.
"Did you even check him before you let him die?" Sue raged at the boy. "Since when do the pack kill people while they're still human?"
"I'm sorry!" Jacob cried out. "I didn't know what to do! And Quil's dead and then Charlie. I didn't know what to do." He sobbed out.
"You should have ordered Paul to stop!" Bella screamed at him as she stood up. "You're the rightful alpha! You should have made him stop!"
"Bella." Jacob choked out as he took some steps towards her with his arms out.
Belka picked up a small plant, the clay pot being small enough to fit in her hand, and flung it at Jacob's face.
"Get away from me!" She screamed.
The plant collided with Jacob's shoulder instead, a cloud of shattered clay and dirt flew around as the remains fell around Sue's floor.
"Time to go, Jacob!" Jared exclaimed as he drug the younger boy out the front door.
"Get off me!" Jacob tried shoving Jared away. "Bella!" He tried getting her attention but she refused to look at him.
Jacob sobbed as his body shivered and then he changed into a wolf with a mournful howl. The house was silent for a moment before Seth, who'd been a bystander watching from the kitchen, grabbed a broom and dust pan to clean the mess up. Seth didn't know the whole story yet, but the pieces he did hear portrayed Jacob in a very bad light.
"Bella, you need to rest." Sue flitted over to the young girl.
"I can't sleep!" Bella shook her head.
"You've been through a lot and you need to rest. Your body needs time to heal." Sue's eyes slid over the shiny bite marks on Bella's skin. "Leah, take Bella to your room and stay with her. I'm not sure who else might show up tonight." She murmured.
Leah nodded at her mom, kissing her cheek as she walked by ushering Bella along to the stairs. Bella protested the whole way but was too weak to fight Leah.
Leah's room was on the smaller side, her bedspread was forrest green and she had a light wooden desk with a matching dresser. Bella sat down on Leah's bed hearing the springs squeak and wrung her hands together as her eyes filled with tears again.
"I can't sleep Leah! I had nightmares before, I'm definitely going to have them now." She cried out.
Leah sat beside Bella. "I'll be here to wake you up if you do." She reassured the pale girl.
"You'll stay all night?" Bella felt like a child as she asked.
"Lay down." Leah ordered her as she nudged Bella to the side that touched the wall, then got into the bed herself on the far side, blocking off anyone's path to get to Bella. "I'll be here." She promised the pale girl.
Bella sobbed quietly and Leah grabbed her hand rubbing soothing circles over her knuckles. Bella finally succumbed to sleep. Then it was Leah who silently cried as she stared at the girl of the man whos murder she witnessed first hand. She could still feel the blood on her claws from Paul's memories.
END FLASHBACK
Bella's fingers were threaded through Marcus's hair as she sat upon his lap. Her head laid on his shoulder as she continued to speak. Corin's hand on her shoulder continued to pump contentment into Bella.
"I stayed with the Clearwater's for a couple weeks, trying to ignore the looks from anyone who didn't know the truth. Sam, the alpha, had ordered Jacob and Paul to burn my house down. They couldn't risk the bodies being found. The people in Forks began to suspect I had been the one to set the fire. That I killed Charlie and all those kids. They found the rest of Renee's body right outside of Forks, and the suspicion only rose. They found my step-dad, Phil, dead in Florida where they lived." Bella choked out.
"But Sue claimed I'd been with Leah at a sleepover and got attacked by a bear, so the cops had no proof. I had to leave. I couldn't stay on the reservation, not when I had to see glimpses of Paul or Embry. Sue wanted to take her kids and move to the Makah reservation, she has family there. She invited me to go, but those plans were ruined after Sam ordered Leah and Seth not to leave." Bella laughed bitterly. "So I left. I went to the Cullen's home, planning to stay there until Victoria came back for me. But I got so angry as I walked through the abandoned rooms." Bella could remember the furniture being covered with white sheets.
Flashback Starts
Bella had driven her orange truck with the bloody seats down the Cullen's long driveway. Jacob had tried cleaning the blood out, as a penance to himself, but the seats were stained. Bella still hadn't spoke to him since the night Jared dragged him from the Clearwater's home.
The large Cullen home with the many glass windows loomed over Bella as she put the truck in drive and got out. She walked up the porch steps and tried the front door, but it was locked. Looking down, she saw decorative rocks in a flower pot by the front door.
"Not like the chief of police can arrest me or anything." She said sadly thinking of her father.
They still hadn't filled the chief position, instead going through a period of mourning at the station. Bella picked up one of the rocks and flung it through a small window by the door. She reached her hand through and unlocked the door, stepping inside.
The furniture had white sheets covering it and a fine layer of dust covered the floor. The kitchen still had human food in it, their props. As Bella ascended the stairs and entered Edward's room, she saw a white sheet draped over his couch. She also saw his shelves still adorned with his music collection. He didn't take everything with him. She ran her fingers over the cd cases. Maybe he had a collection at every home and could just leave his prized possessions behind. He definitely had no issue leaving her behind.
Her hand clenched on a cd case and without another thought, she flung it on the floor, stomping her foot down on it until it was in pieces. She jerked a few more off the shelf repeating the process. Once she started, she couldn't stop.
The cd collection of the bronze haired vampire laid broken all over the floor. The brown haired human took a shard of sharp plastic, jerked the sheet off the couch, and stabbed the broken case into the cushions as she screamed in anger and pulled the stuffing out. She vaguely felt sharp pain in her hand as the case cut it, her blood dripping on the floor. Bella picked up Edward's desk chair and flung it at the windows. When it rebounded off, she picked it up again, slamming it on the oversized windows until the glass cracked.
She made her way room to room, damaging them in some way. Alice's designer clothes were shredded and stained with Bella's blood. The clairvoyant could have warned Bella about the future, could've warned the wolves, but she didn't.
As Bella jerked open another door she realized she was in Jasper's office. It was more of a library then an office, filled with civil war books and antiques from that Era. Bella remembered Jasper's anguished eyes after he attacked her and realized what he'd done. She remembered the way he'd told her she was "worth it" in Phoenix. She couldn't bring herself to damage his stuff and softly closed the door.
Carlisle's office was next. Any medical journals or research left behind was ripped to pieces, his office chair made holes in the dry wall as Bella slammed the legs into the wallpaper. Emmett's collection of baseball cards, of all things, were ripped into tiny pieces. And Rosalie's makeup vanity was destroyed, the vain blonde wouldn't be able to stare at her beautiful reflection in this home again, Bella thought as she broke another mirror.
"My luck couldn't get any worse!" She spoke aloud with a laugh as she thought about the superstitions surrounding broken mirrors.
Bella took a meat mallet from the kitchen and slammed it against Edward's grand piano, splintering the wood to pieces.
"Ahhhhhhh!" She creamed out as she hit the piano over and over until her arm felt too heavy to pick up.
She reared back and flung the meat hammer through the large window by the piano. It shattered into thousands of pieces. Bella sat on the piano bench, the only part of the piano that survived, and panted. She stared at her bloodied hands. The homes water had long been shut off. She remembered when Edward introduced her to his family and ran around with her on his back climbing trees. They'd jumped over a creek.
Bella made her way to her feet, grabbing some bandages that survived her fit of rage in Carlisle's office, and made her way to the water. The creek wasn't high at the moment, but she remembered the water rushing by last time she'd seen it. She rinsed her hands, hissing through her teeth at the slight sting. Wrapping her hands up and taping the bandages, she sat on the creeks bank and tried to figure out what to do.
As she glanced up and looked around at the trees surrounding her, the leaves changing to fall colors, she caught a glimpse of a something. It looked like part of a building in the distance on the other side of the creek. Bella carefully climbed down the creek bank, made her way through the knee deep water, and found a lower part to climb up on the other side.
She walked across the flat grassy area, through a few trees, and finally saw a small cottage. The door was open and as Bella walked inside, she figured this was good a place as any to wait for the redheaded demon hunting her.
Flashback End
"I stayed there for months. Sue came once to remove my stitches, but the tribe was angry at her for associating with the human who attracted vampires so much. She stayed away for her safety and mine. She still sent Seth to deliver food to me. I only saw him once, he got in trouble from Sam, who said he worried Seth would be murdered by the vampires hunting me. Sam ordered Seth not to see me again. So instead, Seth delivered the food when I wasn't there. There was always ways around some alpha orders if they weren't worded just right." Bella told the vampires around her as she lifted her head. "And then you found me." She stated while smiling at Marcus with tired eyes.
"Yes Mia Bella, and it was the greatest day of my life." The vampire king claimed running his fingers over the dark circles under her brown eyes.
Bella snuggled closer to Marcus as Corin's gift began to make her tired instead of just content. She vaguely heard the vampires start to murmur around her as she drifted off into a dreamless sleep in her mates arms, her fingers still tangled in his silky hair.
Author Note : So I tried using the grammer corrector on this app again to make sure I didn't mispell anything. And it literally got rid of any spaces I had so I had to go through and fix it. Hopefully it's completely fixed and legible now!
And I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Translations
Amore mio - My Love
bellezza - beauty