Here is the next chapter all my lovely readers!! I'm sorry if the wait was too long. It's Fourth of July next week so maybe if I get enough votes and comments, I'll post the next chapter for the holiday!! I have been pleased with all the comments I've been getting on the chapters. It's because of all of your support that I keep going so thank you. On another note about this chapter, I wasn't completely happy with how it turned out. I feel like I was talkinf in circles a little bit but oh well O_o Sorry if it sucks lol.
Let the drama begin!
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I could feel the soft cushion of a couch under my body. What had happened? Slowly, my hearing began to come back, allowing me to pick up snippets of the conversation going on around me.
“When is she going to wake up?” a familiar deep voice asked. I wanted to reach out to comfort whoever’s voice this belonged to but my eyelids and limps didn’t seem to want to work for me. I struggled to open my eyes for a few seconds before giving up for the time being and try to refocus on the conversation.
“You already know that she’s immune to all our powers so we can’t estimate it. She’ll wake up in her own time,” I heard a musical girl’s voice respond. Warmth spread over the side of my face. Was someone touching me? Why did that touch feel so…so…right?
I could feel myself regaining consciousness. Slowly but surely, my body was becoming less heavy. My memories of the last few days were coming back. School. My date with Embry. Embry. The deep voice that I wanted to comfort, the warm touch, all of it was Embry. Then I saw red eyes. Jane was coming.
My eyes flew open and I bolted upright on the couch. I was breathing heavy as I looked around. Embry was on the couch beside me, his eyes slightly wide at seeing me awake so sudden. The other pack members and Cullens stood in the room. All eyes were on me. I could feel my eyes beginning to water. Embry inched closer to me. His movements were hesitant as if I would break if he touched me.
“Mia, are you okay?” he asked quietly. I shook my head and looked down from everyone’s gaze. I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. Tears were now falling down my face.
“J - Jane is coming. How….how long do we have?” I asked, looking over at Alice. If anyone knew when and where Jane would appear, it would be her.
“Babe, maybe you should relax for a little while. You just woke up after passing out,” Embry said placing a hand on top of my knee, bringing my gaze back to him. I wiped the remaining tears from my face and took a deep breath to stop anymore from coming.
“I’m fine Embry. You guys need to be prepared,” I exclaimed taking his hand in mine and giving it a reassuring squeeze. What I said was true. Alice said that Jane was bringing backup. Knowing her, it’d be all the guards that have some sort of power. The Cullens and La Push pack have beaten the Volturi before but something about this set it apart in my mind.
I don’t know why Jane is making herself known that she is coming for a visit but it has my nerves set on edge. She had blocked Alice’s visions of her previous visit with me so why not this one? “Alice, how long?” I asked once again.
There was a long pause. I knew they were trying to be cautious around me but I didn’t need that. I needed to know how long we had. “Is someone going to tell me or are we just going to sit here like this isn’t happening?” I snapped, sounding angrier than I intended. I wasn’t angry at anyone in this room. I was angry at myself. I was angry that I was in this situation.
“She’s right. Tell her Alice,” Carlisle stated in his fatherly tone. Most the time I talk to him, he always makes me feel better but it wasn’t working now.
“Jane will be here in a little under the hour. I saw us meeting in the clearing in the middle of the woods,” Alice said. “The one from before,” she continued, addressing everyone in the room except me. They all had a knowing look on their face. We were going to the clearing where I had first seen them all those months ago.
“Well, we don’t have a lot of time. So if you want a brush up on fighting just in case then I’ll be in the backyard. Otherwise, we need to leave in thirty minutes,” Jasper said. Emmett, Edward, and most of the pack followed him out into the backyard. Embry gave me a quick kiss on the side of the head before rushing after them. The girls were running around the house doing who knows what. I could feel a headache forming and the tension was mounting in my shoulders. I needed some fresh air.
I quietly got up and made my way to the front door. Everyone was busy doing something so I wouldn’t be missed at the moment. I closed the door softly behind me. The footsteps sounded on the wood of the porch until I plopped down on the top step of the stairs.
“What am I going to do?” I ask myself. The sky was starting to grow dimmer. The light pink from the sun slowly falling was barely visible thanks to the dark clouds rolling in. The sight was strangely beautiful but only reminded me of the situation at hand. Everything had been perfect like the pink sky but that was all about to go bad. The upcoming storm was proof enough that my bad feeling was legitimate.
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Even though I didn’t know what Jane’s motives were for coming to Forks now, I knew that it would undoubtedly change everything. If she didn’t tell them herself then she would probably just take me and cause an all out war. I didn’t want anyone potentially dying for me. I’ve been lying to them the whole time. I wasn’t worth it. I never intended for the past couple of months to turn out like it has but…I couldn’t bring myself to regret the decisions I have made up to this point.
“Lamia?” I heard Embry call from behind the closed door. The frantic footsteps told me he was following my scent. He’d find me soon enough. As if he heard me, Embry opened the front door. I looked over my shoulder at him before facing back to the yard where all the cars were parked.
“What’s wrong? And don’t tell me nothing because I know you better than you think,” Embry said taking his spot next to mine on the steps. I tried to collect all the thoughts that were swimming around in my head. With a sigh, I knew it wasn’t possible.
“I just have a bad feeling about this,” I said looking down at my hands that rested on top of my legs.
“It’s going to be fine. I won’t let anything happen to you,” Embry replied sliding closer to my side and placing his arm around my waist. I shook my head and glanced at him. His face held a determined expression but his eyes told another story. He was just as worried as I was.
“It’s not me that I’m worried about,” I mumbled as I rubbed my temples. Embry squeezed me closer to him. I laid my head on his shoulder and tried to enjoy the moment. I didn’t know if there would be another one this for a while or if at all.
“Do you love me Embry?” I asked, interrupting the previous silence. I knew in my heart that I loved him. I would go through whatever hell Jane would put me through once she and the rest of the Volturi found out that I had disobeyed them in order to keep him safe. I don’t why I asked. He’s told me several times that he loves me. I just need him to say it one more time.
“Of course I do. I love you with everything I have. Don’t ever doubt that,” Embry replied earnestly, moving so that he was kneeling in front of me. He cupped my face in his hands. The tears that I had pushed away earlier were trying to resurface once again.
“Do you promise? Even if we argue or if I keep something from you for your own safety, you’ll still love me?” I respond. Even though he said to never doubt his love for me, I just couldn’t help the feeling that he wouldn’t once I left or if he ever found out my initial reasons for coming here.
“Loving you isn’t something I can turn off. It’s you or it’s no one for me,” he exclaimed. I could see that he was confused as to where this was all coming from. I wasn’t usually very emotional but around him, I was completely opposite.
He wiped a few tears from my cheeks that had escaped my eyes. He leaned in a placed a gentle kiss on my lips. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him closer until there was practically no space between us. I clung to him not wanting to let go of this moment but it had to come to an end. The front door opening caused us to break apart. Both of us turned to see Alice, the rest of the Cullens, and the pack stood around the door way.
“It’s time,” Alice said softly with a small smile. She was trying to keep a brave face for me and I appreciated it. I nodded my head, wiped of the rest of my face, and took Embry’s hand as we stood.
“Stay close. It shouldn’t take us too long to get there,” Edward instructed to everyone. Without another word, off they ran. The guys shifted into their wolf forms and bolted after them into the woods.
Kim stayed behind with Renesmee and Esme but I refused. Embry knew not to ask me again. So after he shifted, I climbed on his back and held on tight as he started to run. The trees around us blurred as Embry ran at an alarming speed. My hands fisted into his fur and if it was causing him any discomfort, he didn’t show it.
Like Edward said, it didn’t take long for us to reach the very edge of the clearing. Embry stopped right outside the clearing and grunted at me. I took it as a sign to get off so I slid carefully off his back. He went behind bushes that were grouped together and came back to me in only his shorts.
“What are you doing? You should stay in wolf form just in case Jane and whoever came with her try to start something,” I said once he came to a stop in front of me. After our little talk on the porch, I tried to maintain the idea that if Jane tried to take me, he would fight for me even if she happen to tell them my original intentions.
“I’m not going to leave you alone. Jacob and Sam will be in human form as well. If we need to shift then we will,” he explained taking my hand. He pulled us into the clearing. A few yards away stood the others, all in a line just like the last time. The only difference is that I’m on the opposite side this time. I couldn’t see Jane or her followers. She obviously wasn’t here yet but it would be any minute.
As we walked closer, I got the overwhelming feeling that I needed to tell him everything. Come clean before Jane got here. All the other times I felt guilty for not telling him were nothing compared to how I felt now. It was almost like the words were trying to escape from my throat.
“Embry,” I stated tugging slightly on his hand. He kept walking. We were getting closer to the group. Closer to the truth. “Embry,” I said pulling harder on his hand to pull him to a stop. He spun around and looked at me confused.
“What is it Mia?” he asked. He glanced back over his shoulder at the group before giving all his attention to me.
“There’s something that I haven’t been telling you,” I said quietly.
Before I could say anything else, we heard Alice calling to us. “They’re here,” she called. Embry turned back to me and took my hand once again.
“We can talk about this later,” he said reassuringly but I wasn’t so sure there would be a later. Even though I wanted to tell him, I didn’t say another word about it. He needed to be focused for his pack and the Cullens.
We came to a stop between Jacob and Sam. Embry stood so that his body as partially in front of mine. I let go of his hand and clutched the back of his shirt. I scanned the line of trees across from us. It was only a matter of seconds before I finally spotted them.
Jane, her brother Alec, and the guard Demitri glided over the grass as if they were skating on ice. Being around them all my life, I’ve grown accustomed to the grace of the supernatural. Usually it could be considered beautiful but now it caused fear to run up my spine. I moved my body closer to Embry’s, trying to mold my body to his.
The three vampires came to a stop a few feet from our group. The clearing was silent as each of us sized up the others. My muscles tensed up as I looked back and forth between Jane and Carlisle wondering who will speak first. So far, Jane or the others had yet to acknowledge my presence. I’m hoping it stays that way.
“Good evening Jane, Alec, and Demitri. It’s nice to see you once again,” Carlisle said, finally breaking the silence. The corner of Jane’s mouth lifted up ever so slightly.
“Carlisle, always a pleasure. I see you brought the whole welcoming committee,” she replied as her eyes scanned the group. When they landed on me, I cowered back into Embry. He must have seen the exchange because a small but audible growl erupted from him.
“Well we didn’t know why you were coming for an unexpected visit. Better to be prepared just in case, wouldn’t you agree?” Carlisle stated calmly. He was the only one of our group that gave off the impression that he wasn’t on edge.
Jane narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side as if contemplating what he said. “I guess I would agree but our business here doesn’t involve you,” she responded, her voice taking on the sickingly sweet tone that I know so well. My heart almost stopped as she spoke before kicking into high gear once again.
“And what is that Jane?” Carlisle asked, clearly interested in what she was here for. He was probably thinking if she wasn’t here for them, then who was she here for? Me, I answered in my head.
“A traitor,” Jane stated confidently before blurring until she was standing right in front of Embry and I. “Hello Lamia, long time no see.”