-Chloe's Pov-
"Stop!" Alice said as we all looked at her."I didn't see them..." Edward and Jasper were immediately at Bella and I's side. The family instantly gathers at home plate.
"They're traveling so quickly," Alice replied.
"You said they left the county," Rosalie asked her. "They did, but then they heard us...," Alice corrected as she looked at Edward.
"And changed their minds." "Put your hair down," Edward told Bella as she removed her hair from her ponytail.
"Like that'll help. I could smell them from across the field," Rosalie sneered. Edward ignored Rosalie as he arranges Bella's hair. "I shouldn't have brought you here," Jasper told me.
"I'm so sorry." "Don't be," I responded, kissing his cheek. "It's not your fault."
"They're here," Alice announced, Suddenly, they all turn as one toward the edge of the forest.
There's a faint rustle... then three people emerge. As they were near, Bella and I saw their bare feet, then the deep burgundy color of their eyes. The guy in front had dreads with dark skin.
The other guy was pale white with blond hair.
The girl had wild red hair and the second guy had on Waylon's jacket.
The first guy holds up the baseball. I crouched lightly. No one noticed. "I believe this belongs to you," he replied as he tosses the ball. But his casual toss is still blindingly fast.
Carlisle easily catches it and smiled politely. "Thank you," Carlisle thanked him.
"Would you like to have three more players?" The guy asked. "Of course," Carlisle replied. "I'm Laurent," he introduced them. "This is Victoria. And James." James looked at me as I held onto Jasper.
Jasper squeezed my hand as he looked at me. I felt my emotions change.
"I'm afraid your hunting activities have caused something of a mess for us," Carlisle explained. "Our apologies. We didn't realize the territory had been claimed,"
Laurent replied. "Yes, we maintain a permanent residence," Carlisle replied.
The three newcomers exchange a look of surprise. "Really? Well, we won't be a problem anymore," Laurent replied. "The humans were tracking us, but we led them East," Victoria replied.
"You should be safe."
The way she said it made me feel uncomfortable.
"Would you like to bat first?" Thomas asked as we moved to our places. But the wind just had to blow. It carried Bella and I scent, which floats to James, who stopped.
His head whipped around at us and he lurches into a crouch, his nostrils flaring, excitedly, eyes locked on us.
"You brought snacks," he smiled deviously at us.
Edward and Jasper spring in front of us, baring their teeth.
A truly menacing, feral snarl rips from Jasper's throat. James growled back. In a flash, the Cullens rush into position behind Edward and Jasper as Laurent and Victoria line up behind James.
Esme pulled Bella and me behind them. "They're with us," Carlisle told them.
"We won't harm them," Laurent tried to defuse the situation. "Just try it," Emmett replied with a smile. "I think it best if you leave," Carlisle asked. "Yes, I can see the game is over,"
Laurent agreed as he and Victoria turns to leave.
"We'll go now. James?" But James' eyes don't leave Edward's and Jasper's. Laurent puts a hand on James' shoulder, and finally, James backs into the woods with his cohorts, disappearing.
Once they're gone, Esme immediately gathers up the bats.
"Get them out of here. We'll follow them," Carlisle asked Jasper and Edward. Bella, whose mouth was gaping. I closed her mouth.
"You're going to get sick," I reminded as Carlisle, Thomas, and a resentful Rosalie raced off after the three vampires. Edward scoops Bella up as Jasper holds me in his arms.
They ran to the Jeep and they strapped us in.
"James is a tracker. I saw his mind," Edward told Jasper. "The hunt is his obsession, and our reactions set him off." He got in the Jeep as I held Bella's hand.
"Is he going to kill us?" I asked.
"He'll have to get through me first," Jasper reminded me. "We're a large clan of strong fighters all protecting two vulnerable humans," He added. "We just made this his most exciting game ever."
I blanched with the dawning realization of what she has just wrought upon them all.
The Jeep careens down the dirt mountain road. A jolting, death-defying ride, splashing through creeks until we reached the end. The jeep speeds wildly down the road.
"The first place he'll go is your house. He'll track your scents there," Jasper told us.
"What?!? Charlie's there. He's in danger because of us," I replied. "Because of us!" I added.
"Then we'll lead the tracker away from him. Somehow," Jasper told me. He angrily whips around a bend, mud flying. Jasper got a call from Edward. He answered it and talked to him.
"Bella wants us to tell your family that we had to go after her," he informed us, hanging up. "She wants us to wait a few minutes until Charlie would call us. We can say that we need to go after her to get her back."
"He's going to hate Edward once she does that," I added
"He'll forgive us" Jasper added. He pulled up to the house as we got out and inside. I took a few deep breaths. "Jasper? Chloe?" Mom spoke up. "You're home early."
"I know," I lied, Finn ran to me, hugging me, I picked him up.
Anne cooed at Jasper, he carefully picked her up, she played with his other hand. I chuckled. "She likes you," I told him as he smiled.
"How come you're home early sweetheart?" Dad asked, looking up from his paperwork. "The game ended early because Edward and Bella had an argument." I lied.
"They did?" Mom looked confused. "They looked so happy together. How sad"
I shrugged. "Probably just a disagreement, im sure they're fine" Dad said as we waited. Then the phone rang. Mom answered. She gasped as she listened to Charlie.
Dad walked over, lightly gasped, then she hung up. "Bella left," she turned to us, Finn looked at them, confused.
"We can go after her," I suggested. "She always listens to me when she does this." My parents nodded. "Go ahead and pack for a few days," Dad asked. "You might need to take the car for the trip."
I agreed, putting Finn down, Jasper gave Anne to my mom as Jasper and I rushed to our rooms and packed.
When we were done, Jasper carried my bag to the Jeep. I thought I saw in the woods a pair of deadly eyes. James. He watched from a distance as we got into the Jeep.
As we pull out of the driveway, so does James.
"They're safe now, Bella. The tracker is following us," I spoke up, calling Bella. Bella sighed in relief as Jasper took my hand, rubbing his thumb over my hand.
As we drove through town, I saw my friends, Hazel, Grace, Logan, Scarlett, and Angela, in the coffee shop, happy and ignorant.
I sighed as we arrived at the Cullen house. Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and Alice rushed Bella and me from the truck to the house, but froze when the door opens and Laurent exits.
They immediately take defensive positions as Jasper pulled me behind him. Carlisle appeared.
"He came to warn us. About James," he spoke up as they backed down slightly. Laurent addressed Carlisle.
"I've grown tired of his games. But he's got unparalleled senses Lethal," Laurent explained.
"I've never seen anything like him in three hundred years ... And the woman, Victoria, will back him. Don't underestimate her. " Carlisle nodded his thanks.
Laurent looked at Jasper and Edward, apologetically.
"I'm truly sorry for what's been unleashed here," he apologized before he disappeared into the woods.
We walked into the garage and Jasper held my arm.
The lights flipped on to reveal a pristine garage; the Volvo, the red BMW, a black Mercedes sedan, and an SUV.
Everyone but Rosalie sprung into action, opening cupboards for supplies; cell phones, extra batteries, maps, portable GPS units, changes of clothes, cans of gasoline, etc. As they load up the vehicles, Bella held onto me.
"I've had to fight our kind before," Jasper spoke up."We're hard to kill." "But not impossible. We'll tear him up," Edward added.
"It would be better if we can lure him to a location and kill him there," Carlos suggested.
"We'll rip him apart with our hands, then burn the pieces," Emmett smiled.
"I don't relish killing another creature," Carlisle said. "Even a sadistic one like James." "If he doesn't get to one of us first," Rosalie added.
"This is insane. You can't put yourselves in danger like this - for me," I reminded him. "For Bella. For me."
"We're already in this together, Chloe," Rosalie reminded me. Edward and shot Rosalie a look as he grabbed two sets of keys off a hook, throwing one set, lightning fast, to Carlisle.
"I'll run Bella and Chloe south, while you lead the tracker away-," Edward started to say.
"No, Edward, the tracker knows you and Jasper won't leave Bella and Chloe. He'll follow you," Carlisle reminded him.
"I'll go with Bella and Chloe. Tom and I will drive her south," Alice told him. "I'll keep them safe."
Edward agonized. Frustrated. Alice stepped forward. "Can you keep your thoughts to yourself?" Edward asked. Edward finally surrendered his keys to Alice.
Then he opened one of Bella's and my suitcases, pulled out clothes, tossing them to Rosalie and Esme.
"Esme, Rosalie, put these on so the tracker will pick up their scents," Edward said. "Why should I? What is she to me?" Rosalie dropped the clothes. "Just a danger you've inflicted on us."
"Rosalie. Bella is with Edward," Carlisle reminded her.
"They're a part of this family now. And we protect our family." "I'm only doing this for Chloe," she shot back, picking up the clothes.
Carlisle hits the door opener and the massive metal doors roll open.
He squeezed Edward's shoulder before he and Esme climbed into the SUV. Everyone finished loading up and climbing into cars. Edward pulled Bella inside as I looked up at Jasper.
"Please don't get hurt," I asked him, tears welling up. "I can't live with it if you die. I don't want to lose you."
"We won't, there are seven of us, two of them. When it's done, I'll come to get you," Jasper told me. "You're my life now." I kissed him before I got in with Bella.
I looked at him as the car I'm in drove off. I looked at Jasper as he faded into the distance. "I love you," I whispered, knowing he heard me.
The sun arose as the black Mercedes sedan drove. Thomas drove, Alice in the passenger seat. Bella and I are in the back, her eyes red from crying. Bella talked on her cell phone.
"Mom, it's me again. You must have let your phone die," Bella said.
"Anyway, I'm not in Forks anymore but we're okay. I'll explain when you call." Bella hung up, then faced back out the window, watching the green, misty Olympic Peninsula speed past.
-Third POV-
Rosalie, Jasper, and Edward, the fastest, are running. Edward stopped, trying to read his enemy's thoughts.
Rosalie tore a tiny swatch of her shirt and left it on a flowering maple tree, then they were gone.
Emmett, Esme, and Carlisle crouched atop a hill, looking down at the river.
In the distance, below, they saw Victoria jogging into view. She then looked in their direction. Once Carlisle and Esme are assured she has their scent, they continued over the hill's crest.
James blasted past the flowering maple and stopped, backtracking to the tree, finding the tiny swatch of fabric.
He started again, but stopped and smelt the fabric. Something's not right. He ran back in the opposite direction. Jasper ran after James when he saw him leave.
-Chloe's Pov-
I opened my eyes as I got up. I looked around and I saw Bella and me on top of a bed with new clothes. We were in a hotel in Scottsdale. Bella woke up as we walked into the living room.
The blinds were pulled. Alice and Thomas stare blankly at a T.V. set.
Several plates of food crowd a table. Alice looks up as we enter, Bella looking at her cell phone.
"I wish he'd call," Bella sighed. "You should eat," Alice asked. Bella ignores the food. She sits heavily. I grabbed the food and began to eat, texting my family, seeing if they're okay.
"They could get hurt. It's not worth it," Bella continued.
"Yes. It is," Thomas spoke up. Bella and I are taken aback. It's the first time he's engaged with us. "You have such an amazing voice," I said, Thomas laughed.
"Edward and Jasper changed since they found you two," he continued. "And none of us want to look into their eyes for the next hundred years if they lost you. It's worth it."
Suddenly, Alice reeled, Thomas goes to her as Bella follows. I looked up from my food, gulping hard. "What do you see?" Thomas asked. "The tracker. He just changed course...,"
Alice replied as he quickly sets a pad of paper and a pencil in front of her.
"Where will it take him, Alice?" He asked as she began to draw. "Mirrors. It's a room of mirrors," she replied.
Alice draws at hyper speed, closing her eyes, trying to see it. "How do the visions work? Edward said they weren't always certain,"
Bella asked. "She sees the course people are on, while they're on it," Thomas explained.
"If they change their minds, the visions change." Bella and I looked over Alice's shoulder to see the drawing. "So the course James is on now will lead him to...," Bella concluded.
"A ballet studio?" I finished as I saw the drawing.