Behind Enemy Lines

Chapter Twenty-Two

Edward paced the length of the living room, his jaw clenched as he listened to Emmett's desperate pleas echoing from upstairs. The sound of Marissa's heartbroken sobs cut through him like a knife, but he forced himself to remain resolute.

"This is what needed to happen," he said quietly to Alice, who was watching him with disapproving eyes. "She was putting herself in danger. The wolves are unpredictable."

"You manipulated Rosalie," Alice accused, her voice sharp. "You knew exactly what to say to make her react this way."

Edward's hands curled into fists. "I told her the truth. That Marissa was choosing them over us. That she was risking her life for a supernatural bond she doesn't understand."

"And you conveniently left out the part where Paul has been learning control," Jasper interjected from the doorway. "Where the pack has been protecting her."

"The pack can't protect her from everything," Edward snapped. "The nomads are hunting humans connected to our kind. Victoria won't hesitate to use Marissa against us."

Alice's expression softened slightly. "You're scared," she realized. "You saw something in Bella's future, didn't you? Something that made you panic about Marissa too."

Edward's silence was answer enough.

"What did you see?" Carlisle asked, entering the room with Esme close behind.

"Fragments from Alice's visions," Edward admitted reluctantly. "Marissa in danger. The wolves unable to reach her in time. Her blood..." He trailed off, unable to finish.

"So you decided to drive her away before anything could happen," Esme said, her voice heavy with disappointment. "Edward, that's not protection. That's control."

"I convinced Rosalie that Marissa had already made her choice," Edward said, his voice barely above a whisper. "That she'd chosen the wolves over us. I knew it would trigger her abandonment issues, knew she'd react exactly as she did."

The room fell silent except for the continued sounds of Emmett's anguish from upstairs.

"You broke our family," Alice said flatly. "To ease your own fears, you broke our family."

Edward turned toward the window, watching as Marissa's car disappeared down the driveway. "She's safer away from us," he said, but even he could hear the doubt creeping into his voice.

"No," Carlisle said firmly. "She's more vulnerable than ever. And now she has no idea that the very family she's trying to protect doesn't even want her anymore."

The weight of what he'd orchestrated began to settle on Edward's shoulders. In trying to save Marissa from one danger, he might have delivered her directly into another.

Rosalie stood frozen in the hallway, Edward's confession echoing in her ears. The realization hit her like a physical blow—she had been manipulated, used, turned into a weapon against her own daughter.

"I have to fix this," she whispered, her voice cracking.

Without another word, she was out the door, moving faster than she ever had before. The Bella Swan house wasn't far, but every second felt like an eternity. She could smell Marissa's scent lingering in the air, mixed with the familiar smell of wet earth and pine that meant the wolves had been nearby.

When she reached the Swan house, she didn't bother with the front door. Instead, she appeared at Marissa's window, tapping gently on the glass.

Marissa looked up from where she sat on the bed, her eyes red-rimmed and puffy. For a moment, neither of them moved. Then Marissa slowly walked to the window and opened it.