*
The darkening sky above indicated that the storm was coming soon, leaving most members of the Cullen family standing in a lush clearing. A soft breeze caressed Eleanor's skin and she leaned her head back with closed eyes, the smell of the coming storm soothing her.
Eleanor, Esme, Alice, and Rose sat close together, each discussing the upcoming game. Meanwhile, Jasper, Emmett, and Carlisle were busying themselves by setting up their baseball field.
Eleanor loved baseball. She hadn't kept up with the sport and her favorite teams for years but she still sometimes managed to catch a quick game on the television.
The sound of a car arriving replaced the soft conversations in the field. The girls all stood, Eleanor moving to stand behind Alice. She hadn't told Bella that she knew the Cullens' well yet and was anxious to see her friend.
Bella was clearly confused by Eleanor's appearance. She knew El hadn't been close with the Cullens' by their past conversations, so Eleanor knew it was a surprise. "El? What're you doing here?"
The girl shyly tangled her fingers together in front of her and tilted her head towards Alice. "Alice invited me."
Bella hummed, looking from the two girls back towards Edward. The man pulled Bella closer to his side as the rest of his family. Loud, continuous thunder rolled across the sky. "It's time!"
Eleanor and Bella went to stand behind home plate with Esme, Carlisle, Rosalie, and Jasper as the rest of the family took their spots throughout the field. Esme swung her arms around each human's shoulder. "I'm glad you guys are here. We needed umpires."
"She thinks we cheat." Emmett said with a mock eye roll, causing Eleanor to laugh at him.
"Something tells me she's right, Emmett." The man only winked at her.
"Call them as you see them." Esme told both Eleanor as Bella as she crouched behind home plate.
As Bella settled in next to Esme, Eleanor made her way over to Carlisle. He smiled down at her, subtly slipping an arm around her waist while keeping his free hand gripped around his bat. Eleanor kept an eye on Bella, readying herself to move away in case she looked towards the two of them.
Rosalie was first up to bat, looking straight at Alice with narrowed eyes. Alice smirked at her sister before hiking her leg up and pitching the ball like a baseball player. Eleanor watched with wide eyes as Rosalie's bat met the ball, cracking loudly before soaring into the forest. "Now I see why you need the thunder."
"That's gotta be a home run!" Bella exclaimed, her expression similar to Eleanor's.
Esme shook her head, shooting Bella a grin. "Edward's very fast."
Eleanor shook her head with a laugh of disbelief. She didn't think it'd be possible for Edward to catch the ball Rosalie had hit. But as soon as she was about to voice her thoughts, the ball flew out of the forest and landed with a thud into Esme's glove just as Rose's foot touched the base. "You're out!"
Rosalie stood, shooting Bella an evil glare. Emmett called over to the blonde with a childlike smile. "Come on, babe, it's just a game!"
She only rolled her eyes before making her way over to Eleanor and Carlisle. Eleanor offered her a small smile. "Nice hit. I thought for sure you'd make it."
Rosalie nodded in reply, turning her body enough for Carlisle to sneak past her. Eleanor's eyes slid past Rosalie as Carlisle readied himself at the plate. He swung the bat around, sneaking a wink back at Eleanor, who blushed crimson.
Eleanor kept her eyes locked on her mate as he crouched into a batting position until she was nudged in the shoulder. Rosalie pointed her with a knowing look and Eleanor's face grew hotter as she grumbled under her breath. "Shut up."
Carlisle's bat slammed against the ball, making the man instantly drop the bat and sprint to first base. Carlisle was rounding second base by the time Edward and Emmett collided into the air as a clap of thunder sounded overhead. Eleanor cheered loudly when the ball fell between the two and and Carlisle stepped on home plate.
Carlisle headed straight for Eleanor, who held her hand in the air. As he high-fived his mate, his hand curled around hers and he pulled Eleanor into his chest. Eleanor laughed happily, not caring about Bella's curious eyes.
Jasper was next to bat. Alice pitched her ball and, as the ball left the bat and made its way the forest, Alice shouted with a terror-filled voice. "Stop!"
Eleanor's head snapped towards Alice. Her eyes were wide and slightly far away, a clear sign that she was having a vision. She blinked and her eyes refocused, falling between Edward and Carlisle. "They were leaving when they heard us."
Carlisle's whole body tensed beside Eleanor and he gripped her hand tightly as he led her over to Bella and Edward. "You need to get them out of here. Bring Eleanor back to the house."
Edward nodded, reaching for Eleanor's free hand. "Let's go."
"It's too late!" Alice shouted. Eleanor could feel her palms begin to sweat. She wasn't sure what was going on but by the nervous looks shared between the other family members, she knew nothing good would come of this.
Carlisle was by Eleanor's side in a second, sliding his striped baseball jersey off of his shoulders and wrapping it around El's. He smoothed her hair back before placing his baseball cap on her head. Carlisle's hands landed on her shoulders, gently squeezing them, worry written all over his face. "Stay behind me, Eleanor. Please."
"Carlisle, what's going on?" She asked, trying to keep the shakiness out of her voice. Carlisle didn't answer, instead nodding at Alice and Rosalie as they moved to stand beside the girl just as three vampires entered the field. Carlisle turned around and Eleanor peeked over his shoulder to see what was happening.
Her eyes landed on the red head first.
A smirk pulled at her lips, red eyes squinting at the family in front of her as she strutted towards them. Beside her was a dark-skinned man, with long dreads falling over the front of his chest. He squared his shoulders, sizing up the other vampires - it was clear that he was the leader of the group. Eleanor noticed he held the ball Jasper hit in his hand. She slid her gaze over to the final man and a chill went up her spine. His face was set in a cocky grin, sandy blonde hair, tied back in a short pony tail.
He looked more dangerous than any of the others combined.
Eleanor took a quiet, deep breath as she willed a ball of scarlet mist to appear in each hand. She had a feeling these vampires were going to cause trouble and she wanted to be prepared in case they attacked.
The group stopped a few feet away from the Cullen family. The man in the middle held up the ball. "I believe this belongs to you."
The man tossed the ball back to them in a quick blur and Carlisle grasped the ball, twisting it around in his fingers. "Thank you."
"I'm Laurent." He introduced before motioning to the vampires flanking both sides. "And this is Victoria and James."
"I'm Carlisle and this is my family. I'm afraid your hunting activities have caused somewhat of a mess for us." He said. Eleanor could sense the hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Our apologies." Laurent answered, his brow raising slightly. "We didn't realize this territory was claimed."
"We maintain a permanent residence nearby."
A look of surprise passed across Laurent's face at the statement. "Well we won't be a problem anymore. We were just passing through."
"The humans were tracking us, but we led them east." The red head - Victoria - spoke, lips turning into a proud smile.
Eleanor's focus slid back to James. He was staring intently at Edward and Bella, head tilted to the side. She snuck a glance over to the pair, noticing that Edward was glaring right back.
She wondered if the two were having a silent conversation... or at least a one-sided one.
"Sure." Carlisle's voice cut through her thoughts and she snapped back into the current conversation. "We have a few people leaving so you can take their places."
Eleanor frowned, realizing the three vampires weren't going anywhere anytime soon. Victoria caught the ball Carlisle had tossed their way and grinned, wickedly. "I'm the one with the wicked curve ball."
The three vampires turned to talk amongst themselves and Eleanor felt the tension leave her body when Carlisle turned to face her, Rose, and Alice. He opened his mouth to say something when a cold breeze whipped through the air.
Eleanor's hair flew back and her eyes locked with Carlisle's just as a snarl ripped through the clearing. James was laughing, his crimson eyes locked on Bella. "You brought a snack."
Everyone moved quickly, crouching in front of the humans, readying themselves to attack. Eleanor brought her hands up a little higher, making sure that James would be able to see that she was a threat if he looked at her.
"The girl is with us." Carlisle spoke, his voice low. "I think it's best if you leave."
"I can see the game is over now." Laurent said. He almost looked apologetic. "We'll be leaving now. James."
James kept his eyes locked on Bella a moment longer before sliding his eyes towards Eleanor. His smirk only grew as he eyed the magic flowing through her fingers. The blonde met her eyes again before turning and walking with his coven.
Carlisle was gripping Eleanor's hand as soon as James turned and he began to pull her towards the car that they had arrived in earlier. She watched as he pulled the front door open. "Can you tell me what the hell is going on now, please?"
"James is a tracker." He told her, amber eyes locking with hers. He helped her into the car before gripping her hand. "Which means that when he catches sent of potential prey, he doesn't rest until he catches it. In this case, I believe the prey are you and Bella. Though he was more focused on Bella, I don't want to take any chances."
He squeezed her hand once more before moving around to the drivers side. Esme, Alice, and Jasper slid into the backseat as Eleanor buckled her seatbelt.
"So, what're we going to do?" Eleanor asked, quickly glancing back at the three in the backseat. Each of them wore grim expressions. "There's got to be some way to put the focus on someone else, right?"
"No." Jasper shook his head. "We're going to have to kill him. It's the only way the end the hunt that won't end in yours or Bella's blood."
Carlisle's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
"Shit." Eleanor breathed, leaning her elbows on her knees and tangling her hands in her hair. She felt a cool hand land on her back and turned her head enough to see Carlisle staring back at her.
The rest of the car ride was spent in silence, each person in the car too worried to talk. Eleanor's mind raced with different possibilities of how this hunt would end. James and Victoria had looked vicious and she wasn't sure of how easy it'd be to put them down.
While she had been training with the Cullens' long enough now to use her abilities properly, she was scared out of her mind. She hadn't been put through a situation where using her abilities could impact whether she lived or died yet.
And she wasn't sure she was totally prepared for that moment.
***
I don't really like this chapter but shit is about to go down... and don't worry, Bella and Eleanor will be having a long conversation in the next few chapters.
Enjoy, pleuvoirx
edited 4.8.2021