It was only a few days into April when the news of the 'animal' that had been attacking, struck there in Forks, killing a woman. Outwardly, the Cullens were calm and collected, acting just as surprised as everyone else, but Bella saw past their façade. This meant the nomads had come further into their territory either not realizing it was claimed or not caring. Either way, Bella was beginning to really worry about her father. Now that it was in Forks, he was even harder at work trying to track them down.
With Charlie busy, it meant Carlisle was around more, though mostly trying to comfort her. She didn't want to lose Charlie. Since the death in Forks, she couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen to him and that bothered her. Even Alice tried to comfort her, but when pressed, the pixie admitted she couldn't see Charlie's future. This, of course, did nothing to help her nerves.
Nearly two weeks passed, and nothing happened, but the feeling was still there so in an effort to try and comfort her, Carlisle invited her to a baseball game. She'd attended them in the past and enjoyed watching them play, so she agreed. That Friday there'd be a storm close enough that they could play so after school she and Edward let Charlie know about the game and headed out.
By the time they'd arrived, the teams were formed, this time girls against boys, and Bella took up her spot as umpire. It was the only position she could do, though really, she guessed on half the calls since they were so fast her eyes couldn't always follow. The boys batted first, scoring two runs before the girls swapped out. Rosalie got a run, before they ended up getting three outs in a row. Round and round they went, Bella easily lost track of time as she enjoyed herself
At least, until Alice suddenly froze, eyes slightly glazed over.
"Stop!" Alice yelled; her gaze turned towards the tree line.
All the other's heads turned seemly to the same point Alice was looking at. In a flash, all the Cullens were suddenly around her, Edward grabbing her firmly and pulling her towards the Jeep. "We have to get you out of here."
"It's too late." Carlisle's voice came as he gently pulled her towards him looking concerned. "Stay behind me."
Nodding, she gripped the back of his shirt as they all turned towards the approaching vampires. Bella's heart was pounding out of her chest as she clung to Carlisle, she was sure they could all hear it too. Three vampires came to a stop a few feet away. The middle one, who she assumed was their leader smiled in greeting, he had dark skin, with dreads that ran down his back and wore a tan jacket with no shirt underneath. The woman to the man's right had a stuck-up air about her. She had pale skin, and her red hair ran in curls down just past her shoulders. The other was also pale but with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, and like the other man, wore a jacket with no shirt under it.
The man in the middle held up the baseball they'd been using. "I believe this is yours."
In the blink of an eye, the ball vanished, and she heard it collide with Carlisle's hand as he caught it. "Thank you."
"I'm Laurent, this is Victoria and James." Laurent gestured to the woman then the other man.
"Carlisle, and this is my family." Carlisle nodded towards the others. "Your hunting activities have caused something of a problem for us."
"Our apologies, we didn't realize the territory was claimed."
"We maintain a permanent residence nearby."
Laurent nodded. "Well, we were just passing through."
"The humans were tracking us, but we led them East." Victoria spoke up with a grin on her face.
Carlisle gave a nod. "Excellent."
While they spoke, Bella had kept her head down trying to be as invisible as possible, but she couldn't help but notice James had been staring at her the whole time. Biting the inside of her cheek she worried that he could tell she was human, though, it would be kind of obvious since she was the only one with a pulse. Edward, who was still next to her, was tense and staring the man down which only made her more concerned.
Laurent gave a lighthearted chuckle. "So, could you use three more players?" When Carlisle hesitated, the man continued. "Oh, come on, just one game."
"Sure." Carlisle nodded. "Some of us were leaving, you can take our place. We'll bat first."
Carlisle tossed the ball back to Laurent, but Victoria caught it. "I'm the one with the wicked curve ball."
"I think we can handle it." Jasper japed.
Carlisle turned to lead her away, which she was grateful for as James' constant stare was really unnerving her. A gust of wind blew past, kicking up some of her hair, and she heard James take a deep breath and almost growl in delight.
"You brought a snack."
Carlisle whipped back around as Edward moved to get between them, and suddenly all the Cullens were crouching with a collective hiss as Esme moved in front of her to protect her. Shaking, she watched as the Cullens faced off against the three nomads for a moment, before Laurent held up his hands in surrender.
"I can see the game is over. We'll leave." Laurent backed away slowly, but James didn't move. "James."
After a moment, James stood with Victoria following suit and they walked away. Carlisle waited until they were a good distance away before turning to her, concern written all over his face. It was written in his eyes that he was struggling to come up with a plan of attack. After a moment, he sighed and looked at Edward.
"Take Bella home, help her pack a bag and get her to the house."
Edward wasted no time guiding her over to the Jeep and almost pushed her inside before shutting the door. As he peeled away, she locked eyes with Carlisle wishing he'd come with her. She knew he couldn't show up at her house, it would look too suspicious, but she wanted his presence right now. They were quiet for a while, as Edward maneuvered them out of the forest and to the main road.
"What happens now? What do we do?" She asked trying to keep the panic out of her voice.
"We need to get you away from Forks, James is a tracker, he lives for the hunt. We've just given him his biggest challenge yet." Edward sounded as scared as she felt.
"If he's a tracker, what about my dad? He'll track me back there; we need to keep him safe." Her fear continued to rise despite Carlisle's attempt to soothe her through their bond. She couldn't let anything happen to Charlie; he was innocent in this.
"Right now, the priority is you. We need to get you out of here, we'll worry about Charlie later." Edward glanced over at her. "I'm sorry Bella but that's how it has to be."
Narrowing her eyes, she shook her head. "No. I'm not going to leave him to be killed by some sadistic bastard."
"He'd have no reason to kill Charlie if you were already gone."
"I don't care; I don't want to risk it."
Edward gave a heavy sigh. "Then what do you propose?"
"I don't know." Bella shouted in frustration. There had to be a way to convince Charlie to leave with her. "I just have to try."
They fell silent as they drove the rest of the way back to her house. Edward pulled into the driveway behind her truck, Charlie's cruiser was absent. With a sigh of relief, she remembered Charlie was supposed to go on a fishing trip with Billy and Harry so hopefully that would mean he was safe for the time being, since the pack could look out for him. Bella headed inside and upstairs with Edward right on her heels as they quickly packed her a bag and were once again on the road.
The ride back to the Cullen house was quiet and she kept worrying that around any bend James would appear ready to kill her. To her relief, they got back to the house safe and sound. They both quickly made their way up the steps to the front door and as they entered, they saw Laurent with Carlisle. Edward let out a hiss stepping in front of her, but Carlisle held up his hand.
"Wait, he came to warn us."
Laurent gave a nod. "I'm tired of James' games, I want nothing to do with this mess. I will warn you; they are not to be taken lightly. Good luck."
With that, Laurent walked around Bella and into the night. Carlisle held out his hand to her and she quickly took it, letting him pull her into his arms. "It will be alright, love. We'll figure this out."
Nodding into his chest, she clung to him for a few minutes before finally releasing him. They moved to the living room to discuss what to do. All were certain the two nomads wouldn't attempt to get at Bella while in the Cullen home, but she couldn't stay there forever. On and on the conversation went, Bella refusing to flee with the possibility of Charlie going home to a waiting vampire and the Cullens unwilling to let her out of their sight. It was early morning when Bella's phone started to ring.
"Hello?" She answered curiously.
"Bella, its Billy Black, any idea where your dad is? He was supposed to be here last night and he's not answering his phone." Billy told her, voice laced with concern.
For a split second, she thought her heart had stopped. Pulling herself together she tried to force a smile. "Not sure, I'll try calling him too and get back to you."
"Thanks, Bella."
Getting up, she walked away from the group, Carlisle watching her closely as she stepped into the kitchen and called Charlie's phone. It rang until it went to voicemail, so she tried again, he always answered his phone so why wasn't he this time? Again, it went to voicemail. Sighing, she waited a few minutes, anxiously tapping the phone against her palm. To her surprise, it started ringing. When she checked the caller id, it was Charlie.
"Dad, are you ok, where are you?" She blurted out in a panic.
"Bella." Charlie's voice came over the line. "Whatever they say don't do it." He rushed to say before his voice became muffled.
"Dad!?"
"Don't worry about dear daddy, we're taking good care of him." A male voice came on the line.
She almost asked who it was before it clicked in her head. "James?"
"Clever girl." He crooned. "Now I have a simple request for you, ditch those Cullens and I'll let daddy dearest go."
Swallowing, she glanced towards the living room where the others were still seated, no one seemed to be listening to her conversation, too focused on their current task. "Where should I meet you?"
"There's an old abandoned general store just outside of Port Angeles, off the 101. Remember, come alone or dear daddy dies."
The line went dead. Letting the phone drop from her ear, she again looked towards the living room, wishing she could tell Carlisle, have him comfort her and tell her they'd save her father. Steeling her nerves, she slipped down the stairs and made her way towards the garage, snatching Carlisle's keys from the hook he hung them on. Slipping into the garage as quietly as she could, she hit the button for the garage door and climbed into the Mercedes and locked it knowing they'd likely hear the garage door opening and coming to stop her. She'd barely gotten the Mercedes started when Carlisle appeared at the window calling to her as he tried the handle. She'd hoped using his car would prevent him from breaking it to get to her, so far, she was correct.
"Bella?!"
Glancing at him, she nearly burst into tears at the confusion and hurt evident on his face. "I'm sorry."
Throwing it into drive, she pulled away leaving him behind. This time, she did cry as she headed down the driveway and to the main road. The tears flowed for several minutes as she tried to convey how sorry she was through their bond, but the confusion and hurt remained. She hoped he could forgive her one day.
An hour later, she was parked outside the store James had told her about, her father's cruiser parked in front of the store. The store had sat abandoned for years, though why no one had torn it down yet, she didn't know. As she sat in the Mercedes watching the store, her phone dinged making her jump. Carlisle had been texting and calling her since she drove off, this latest message simply read 'Bella.'
Her heart ached at having left him like that, knowing it would hurt him. Instead of responding back, she sent him her location, hoping they would be able to offer back up, which she was sure she was going to need. With a slow deep breath, she steeled herself and climbed out of the car.
Stepping inside the store was, to say the least, creepy as hell. Dust covered everything, the shelves were all empty and some even knocked over, and wires hung from the ceiling. There was no light in the whole place, so it was incredibly dark and hard to see. The only light was from the rising sun shining through the few windows that weren't boarded up. Something in the back of the store shifted and she nearly hit the ceiling with how hard she jumped. Taking another slow breath, she moved closer to the shifting shadow until she realized it was Charlie.
Relief washed over her as she rushed over to him and removed the gag. "Dad, are you ok?"
"Bella, I told you not to come." Once he was free, he hugged her tightly.
"I'm sorry, dad, I had to, I couldn't leave you alone with them." She could feel the tears threatening to fall again as she held him close, glad to see he wasn't hurt.
"Aw, isn't that sweet?" James' voice echoed slightly in the empty store. Turning, she found him sitting on top of what used to be the deli counter that made up the back of the store. "A father daughter moment. How precious."
"You have me, let my dad go." Bella stood doing her best to sound fierce and not like a lamb yelling at a lion.
James' head tilted to the side and in a flash, he was next to her and easily picked Charlie up by the shirt and holding him off the ground. "Hm, but why should I, I could have twice the fun with you both here."
He threw Charlie across the room and into a shelving unit, breaking it with a loud crash. Charlie groaned in pain but before Bella could move to his side, James grabbed her by the upper arm and flung her over the deli counter and into a wall. She fell with a thud, the wind knocked out of her for a moment, as she climbed to her feet. James had moved over to where Charlie was crawling out from under the rubble of the shelves and put his foot against Charlie's lower back and pushed, forcing Charlie to the ground. With a sickening grin, James pushed again, and a loud crack echoed through the store followed by Charlie's scream of pain.
"NO!" She screamed. "You said you'd let him go."
"You're not as smart as I thought if you really believed I'd let my dinner walk out of here." James licked his lips.
Charlie lifted his head, his gaze meeting Bella's. "Bella, run, get out of here, now."
James leapt onto the counter, squatting there as he leered down at her. "Yes, little Bella, run for me."
Turning, she ran into the back room, looking for anything that would be helpful against James, and finding nothing. She could hear his bare feet as he walked along the tiled floor towards her. In a desperate attempt to stall him, she pushed one of the wire racks over as he passed, which he easily knocked away as she ran past him towards the main part of the store. As she got to the deli counter, James kicked her in the back, knocking her to the floor.
Feeling around on the floor, her hand found something metal and heavy. Without a second thought, she gripped it, spun and swung as hard as she could at James' head. She knew it wouldn't likely do anything, but if it could buy her a little time that was all she needed. The sound of metal hitting stone echoed in the room as she made a run for it around the counter and towards Charlie to try and help him. James simply chuckled at her.
"Little kitty has some claws." James taunted.
Bella's heart was beating so loudly she was sure Charlie could hear it as she frantically tried to figure out what to do. With Charlie's back broken he wouldn't be able to walk, and she wasn't strong enough to carry him out of there. Before she could do anything, James grabbed her by the hair and threw her across the floor, slamming into the deli counter. Her ears rang slightly from the impact as she blinked to clear her vision. James stalked towards her, Charlie behind him yelling for James to leave her alone and take him.
James squatted in front of her, flashing a smile at her. "I wonder how dear Carlisle will react when he finds your dead body. You're his mate, am I right? I can smell him on you. Maybe I should toy with you till he arrives, I know he's likely looking for you, then I could see his expression when I kill you."
Bella felt all fear leave her at the idea of this man harming Carlisle through her. Guilt replaced her fear, she had come to save Charlie knowing it could lead her to death, yet she hadn't thought about how Carlisle would handle her death. Shaking the thought away, she held out hope that they would come for her, that they would save her and her father.
"He'll kill you." She seethed. "They will tear you to pieces."
"I doubt it." James stood, then stomped on her right leg snapping the bones.
Pain lanced up her leg, as she cried out, gripping her pant leg just above the knee in a futile effort to stop the pain. James smiled again, clearly pleased with himself. She watched as he turned towards Charlie, then knelt to one side of him, bending Charlie backward as the man cried out in pain. Horror struck her as she watched James, as if in slow motion, leaning in and sinking his teeth into Charlie's neck where it met his shoulder.
"NO!" Bella screamed, her cry mixing with the one of pain from Charlie.
A moment later, the front door exploded in, and Edward appeared, launching James across the store and away from Charlie. Charlie started to writhe in pain on the ground, crying out in agony, as Edward glanced at her with an apologetic look before moving to keep himself between them and James. Bella crawled her way over to Charlie, unsure how to help him as he continued to groan and cry out in agony.
As carefully as she could she rolled Charlie onto his back, propping his head on her thigh using her sleeve to try and stop the bleeding. Charlie groaned her name as the pain continued to course through him and it tugged at her heart, wanting to help him but having no way to do so. "I'm sorry Dad, I didn't want you involved in this. I'm so sorry."
As she held him, she tried to watch the fight between Edward and James, but they kept moving too fast, so she only got glimpses. What she did see was the destruction they left in their wake, shelves flying, flooring being ripped up, and ceiling tiles falling on her head. At one point someone went flying back over the deli counter, knocking shelves and debris everywhere. Bella did her best to cover Charlie to protect him, and as the dust settled, she glanced up and to her horror found James leering down at her.
"Guess lover boy didn't come." James knelt so he was eye level with her, taking her arm and bringing it to his mouth. "Don't worry, this will only hurt for a bit."
She felt James' teeth graze her skin and, in that moment, time seemed to freeze as she said a silent apology to Carlisle, and hoped he'd be able to live on without her. In the blink of an eye, James went flying back into the wall of the store. Following the black jeans up the legs of the person in front of her, she nearly sobbed with relief to see Carlisle. He was seething with rage, which was an emotion she hadn't known was possible for him. James and Carlisle charged each other and in a flurry of movement, Carlisle slammed James into the ground. Edward appeared from over the deli counter just as James got back to his feet. Jasper and Emmett appeared on either side of him grabbing his arms and restraining him. She couldn't pull her eyes away as Edward joined them guiding James away so they could break him apart, or so she heard them say.
Cold hand touched her thigh, and she jumped, until she saw it was Alice, but Alice's eyes were looking down at her hands. Glancing down, she saw her hands covered in Charlie's blood. "Carlisle! My Dad." She called out.
The blonde whipped around and knelt moving her hands away. Golden eyes looked up at her with sympathy. Bella looked down and was shocked to see the blood had already stopped leaving a nasty-looking bite in its wake. "It's too late Bella. The venom has spread to far, I can't stop it."
Bella's hands shook as they gripped Alice's hand and Charlie's shirt. "What do we do, we have to help him."
"Bella, you have a choice here." Carlisle said as gently as he could. "Either Charlie dies, or we let him change. There are no other options I'm afraid."
Tears started to form in her eyes as she watched Charlie suffer. She couldn't fathom having one of them kill her father, it was unthinkable. "I'm sorry, dad, I hope you'll forgive me." She whispered to him before meeting Carlisle's gaze. "Three days, right?"
Carlisle nodded. "Three days, then we can bring him to the Denali coven, it would be safer for him there while he adjusts to life as a vampire."
"Wait what?" Bella blinked back the tears, refusing to let them fall. "He'd have to leave?"
Alice squeezed her hand. "It will be better for him to be away from humans while he's a newborn, and we can't risk someone seeing him. We'll be faking his death so others can mourn him."
It all became too much all at once. Charlie's constant cries of pain that would last for three days, the knowledge that they'd have to kill off her father to the world and to top it all off, he would be forced to leave his home. All because of her. All because she'd been unable to protect him.
Familiar arms wrapped around her, pulling her close as she cried. Even the pain in her leg was nothing compared to the guilt she felt for putting Charlie through this. Carlisle held her as he gave the others their instructions. Charlie's cries grew quieter until she could no longer hear him, and only then did Carlisle gingerly pick her up trying not to jostle her broken leg. He carried her as she continued to cry and climbed into the back seat of his Mercedes as Alice got in the front seat.
By the time they hit the hospital Bella had cried herself out and just clung to Carlisle's shirt as he tried to soothe her. Carlisle got her checked into the hospital, Alice staying close and trying to offer her comfort now and then. She stayed mostly silent through it all, exhausted from all the adrenaline that had been pumping through her system. Letting Carlisle handle all the medical junk she only really spoke when she had too, otherwise she continued to cling to Carlisle, until she was finally booted and ready to be released.
Carlisle offered to get them a hotel in Port Angeles, but Bella insisted on being brought to Charlie. She wanted to be with him through this process since it was her fault. He tried to talk her out of it, but she was adamant, so Carlisle gave in and had Alice drive them back to Forks. Bella napped on the way, waking when Carlisle attempted to sneak her to bed. Despite her exhaustion, she still insisted on seeing Charlie. Once again Carlisle tried to argue it, but she was relentless.
Bringing her down to the living room, he set her on the couch next to the table they'd laid Charlie on, having moved the coffee table out of the way to make room. She was vaguely aware of the others milling around but her focus was on her father and his face, twisted up in pain as the venom changed him. For three days she sat there, eating when Carlisle insisted, sleeping only when she passed out from exhaustion, and only leaving Charlie's side for bathroom breaks.
Carlisle was a constant companion, but the others came and went as well. Sometimes Jasper and Alice would sit with her, other times it would be Esme, Rose and Emmett took a turn but mostly it was Edward that sat with her. It was on the second day that Edward told her that her father didn't blame her, that Charlie was thinking about her the whole time, hoping she was safe and sound. It helped her mood a little.
On the final day, they all waited with bated breath as Charlie's cries quieted, his heart rate dropping. Worried for her safety, Carlisle insisted on her being as far away as possible when Charlie came too so they could try to intervene should he go berserk. When his heart beat its last beat, all the Cullens stiffened.
Charlie's eyes opened, now tinted blood red and locked onto her in an instant. "Bella?"