Bella, shut the hell up! Jacob screeched through the mind link.
Bella paused in the middle of her 'She said yes. I said wow. She said when, and I said how about right now.' The song had been reverberating throughout her head and it was making the wolves insane. Sorry, how long have I been doing this?
For five miles. Five damn miles. WE'RE JOGGING! THAT'S LIKE FIVE MINUTES REAL-TIME. I swear to all things holy if you don't shut up...
Jacob! Too much! Sam called, ever the parent.
My bad guys.
I'm so excited! Brady railed in his mind. It's so cute! Brady slammed happily into Bella's hindleg. She snarled. He was undeterred.
Was I this annoying? Bella asked.
Still are, Sam laughed.
Still are, Bella mocked.
Hush, Sam chided her. We're almost there. The pack was swiftly coming upon the Cullen territory. Bella, fall back, Sam commanded. Bella huffed, but she was powerless to disobey. She fell back, trailing some of the newer wolves. It wasn't meant as a punishment, but to help Bella keep her emotions in check.
It had been a few days since the pack had rescued Charlie. He was in the hospital recovering. He wasn't in bad shape, but he had developed a small infection from a scratch on his leg and had developed a fever that refused to break. He had fractures in his leg, just like Carlisle had thought. His CT and MRI had been clear, much to Bella's relief. Bella had been to see him after school every day that week. Charlie insisted she go to school during the day, though she would have been content to spend it with him.
They hadn't yet discussed how Bella had saved him. They weren't really a touchy-feely family, but Bella knew at some point this topic would have to be breached. The most Charlie had done was pat Bella on the shoulder and say, "Thanks kid," while he watched a game with his leg propped up and she did her homework. It wasn't the conversation they needed, but it was a start.
Charlie hadn't yet asked how the wolf situation happened to her, but Bella had wasted no time in asking him what happened to him. "It was the dumbest thing, if I'm honest. I had my mag, and i was shining it every which way. Little kids, ya know? I didn't want to miss her because I wasn't looking hard enough. The rain was coming down, I had my walkie in my other hand...Mark was talking to me and I slipped. I was too close to the river when it happened, and I ended up in it. Rookie mistake, honestly. The water was so high that I didn't stand a chance. I lost my walkie and my maglight in one go. Then my leg got caught and you saw how that turned out." He pointed at the splint he had to use until the cut healed. "Honestly, I just hung on for dear life."
"For three hours?"
"Wow. That long? Yeah, I guess for three hours. I gotta stay around for you." Bella had snorted at that. "What? Who you gonna feed if I die?"
"No one, I guess."
"No one. And that's why I gotta keep healthy." Charlie had looked proud of himself as he repeated, "Three hours. Jesus."
Bella thought about Charlie. She had planned on spending Saturday with him, but if the wolf pack had a job, the wolf pack had a job. She tried to refocus on the task at hand as they cautiously broke through the tree line. They all caught the scent of unfamiliar vampires. The hackles of every wolf raised; Bella included. Sam slowed their procession. Is this a trap? Jacob demanded.
Sam's caution rippled through all of them. He briefly considered if it was a mistake for all the wolves to come to this meeting. Embry. Quil. Remain in the woods, just in case. The boys balked at the command. Now! The pack must survive. The boys shrank back from the command of the alpha. They withdrew from the group and the pack rearranged to fill their empty spaces in the formation. The remaining wolves slowly advanced, incredibly cautious. As they broke the tree line they spread out, displaying the full size of the pack.
Edward and Carlisle stood on the porch with four vampires. Bella only recognized one of them and was surprised to see him here. You know him? Sam asked.
He's a...friend. His name is Laurent. Bella's hesitation indicated she wasn't exactly sure if he was a friend, but she did not fear Laurent's presence. Edward watched the exchange, his brow furrowed. She wondered what it was like for him to be able to hear all the wolves except for Bella. It was probably like listening to one side of a phone call. Bella expanded her mind and let him in. He leaned back, surprised.
"That is so interesting." He said out loud.
"What is it?" Carlisle asked curiously.
"Bella can remove the shield from her mind. I can hear her when she wants me to."
"Bella?" The smallest of the blonde vampires asked. "You mean that lovely human that Edward left in the dust?" Edward looked uncomfortable. "I thought she was very, decidedly human. So human, in fact, that Edward wanted to eat her and not in the good way?" Emmett guffawed from somewhere in the house. A moment later he yelped in pain.
"Yes, Bella. She's a little less human than before. Bella?" Bella lifted her head. Carlisle nodded. "We consider Bella part of our family." Carlisle turned back to the wolves. "I would like to introduce you to our extended family. They are the reason I called this meeting. This is Tanya." Carlisle indicated the tallest of the blonde vampires. She seemed unhappy to be there. "This is her younger sister, Irina." Carlisle gestured genially to the middle sister. "And this," Carlisle indicated the blonde who had spoken earlier, "is Kate." Kate smirked at the wolves in front of her, unbothered by their raised hackles. "I assume Bella has given you a bit of insight into Laurent?"
Sam nodded. Bella reached her thoughts out to Edward again. "Ah, yes." Edward was still blown away by hearing Bella's mind. He nodded to Laurent. "Bella remarked on your eyes."
"Yes," Laurent drawled. "After our last," he cleared his throat, "meeting, I thought a better life could be out there for me." He smiled, his golden eyes glowing in his dark face. "I think the gold suits me better than the red, no?" Bella nodded, not sure if Laurent even knew which wolf she was. "There was, in fact, a much better life out there for me." He looked fondly towards Irina, leaving no doubt that she was his mate. She reached for him unconsciously, and he reached as well. He looked relaxed. Laurent had upgraded his outfit now that he lived in a stable home. Peace suited him.
Are we simply here for introductions? Sam asked. We appreciate the warning, but this could have been done by phone.
"They would like to know why they're here," Edward told Carlisle. "Also, Sam, we have no intention to cause you any harm. You don't need a contingency to remain behind if you feel comfortable."
I don't, no offense.
"None taken."
Carlisle waited for this exchange to be over before speaking. "We called you because, unfortunately, this is not a social visit from our cousins." Brady was inappropriately excited, like this was all just a game. An anger spike from Sam stilled his joy. "They come bringing troubling news. Is there any chance we could discuss this together?"
Jacob spoke up first. Sam, I think we need to. It sounds big.
I don't like it, Leah added. But I think he's right.
I agree. Fine. Let us change. We'll be back. Edward relayed the message to the rest of the vampires.
The pack backed out of the yard and into the woods. None of them wanted to turn their back to the vampires, so none of them did. Even Brady maintained his composure. They all dressed quickly. Even without the link, they could all feel the anxiety between them. "What could it be?" Paul asked under his breath.
"If it wasn't huge, they wouldn't be here," Sam muttered back. The wolves could hear the vampires mumbling, so they knew the vampires could definitely hear them. They all took a deep breath and walked back through the woods, prepared for bad news.
Rosalie and Emmett joined the rest of the vampires on the porch. They took the open space next to Edward. Esme, Alice, and Jasper were out hunting, so there were less of them on the porch than normal. It was a simple precaution. No one wanted to be hungry and moody when the wolves came around. Rosalie knew her family cast an impressive image. Emmett stood a little away from Rosalie, hoping not to get flicked in the nose again. She considered doing it again just for fun. Instead, Rosalie folded her arms over her chest and glared at the woods. She could see the wolves inside. Thankfully, they had all finished changing. The Quileute's slowly made their way out of the trees. The pack presented an impressive image, but Rosalie couldn't help but roll her eyes and scoff. All the boys were shirtless. They were all flexing, as if pushing their biceps to their limit was supposed to intimidate the enemies in front of them. They didn't wear shoes. Rosalie wondered if they had destroyed them all with their uncontrollable tempers. She couldn't stop her lip from curling up a bit at how proud they were of their physiques.
Bella finally broke from the tree line, following the Clearwater girl with her head held high. Rosalie stopped breathing as she took Bella in. She was wearing knee length jean short cutoffs that hung low on her hips, and that was almost all. Like the boys, Bella didn't wear a shirt. Instead, she wore a black Nike sports bra. Bella's entire body was toned like she had spent the past year working out. Her stomach muscles were easily visible. Bella rolled her shoulders and shook out her arms. Bella's irises were still mostly gold like her wolf eyes lingered. Bella locked eyes with Rosalie and spread her arms in an 'oh well' manner while she smirked at Rosalie. Rosalie averted her eyes, trying to keep the sneer in place. She could hear all the heartbeats in the field, but she could identify Bella's. When Rosalie looked back up Bella had crossed her arms over her chest like the boys, showing off her biceps.
Rosalie caught Edward looking at her. She sneered at him. Edward leaned away, and Kate took that time to lean onto his shoulder and say, "Are you sure you don't want that one anymore? If not, I've got dibs." Edward looked uncomfortable as a small growl escaped, unbidden, from Rosalie's chest. Emmett looked at her. The wolves looked confused at the display. Bella, however, just looked pleased with herself.
Carlisle cleared his throat. "Yes, well. Sam, as you know, we left last year under the impression that it would protect those around us, humans and wolves alike." Sam nodded. The rest of the wolves remained still. Edward tensed, clearly uncomfortable. "We returned when we realized that Victoria had been in the area. Alice has visions and in a few of these visions, she saw Victoria around Forks. Around the same time, Bella's future disappeared. We intended to protect the rest of Forks, no matter what had happened to Bella. We were pleasantly surprised to find Bella happy and healthy." Carlisle nodded to Bella. Bella was still looking at Rosalie. Look away, dog, Rosalie thought to herself, aware of Edward's mental intrusions.
"There have been no recent signs of Victoria in the area. We had hoped that meant she moved on."
"You had hoped?" Sam asked.
Carlisle looked to Laurent, who took over. "I was once in a coven with Victoria and her mate, James. Victoria is determined to avenge James' death. She is planning on coming here to destroy everyone who lives here."
"How do you know this?" Sam asked harshly.
"She called me. She knew I was in Denali and trying to change my life. She said that the vegetarian life would never hold me and that I owed her." Irina put her hand on Laurent's shoulder. He looked ashamed of himself. Rosalie wondered how many times he had slipped up. "Victoria told me to come down here, see how many Cullen's had moved back to Forks, and see how many...wolves...there are." Rosalie was willing to bet Victoria hadn't said 'wolves' but everyone let it go. "So here we are to warn you."
"Why would you warn us?" Sam asked in disbelief. Rosalie didn't blame him.
"I am dedicated to this life. I will forever be with Irina, and I am in debt to the Cullen's. If they wish to protect you, then I do as well." Sam nodded. "Also, it seems a part of the Cullen family is part of your family." Laurent shrugged. Well, Rosalie thought to herself, good for him.
"We don't know exactly what she plans," Carlisle began, "but Victoria is a wickedly clever woman. She will do whatever it takes to avenge James. All that stands in her way is us."
Laurent looked out at the wolves. "Victoria has one target, and she will do anything to get at it."
Bella shifted her weight. "It's me, isn't it?"
Rosalie looked from Bella to Carlisle, then back to Bella. "Is that true? Are they here for Bella?"
Laurent nodded. "Victoria's goal is to kill Edward's mate. A mate for a mate."
Bella laughed. "Imagine her surprise when she finds out Edward's not my mate!" The wolves looked at Bella. A few of them laughed. "What? He's not."
"We don't think it matters, Bella. It seems that once Victoria has set her mind on something, she can be just as determined as James." Carlisle tried to get Bella to take it seriously. Rosalie wondered if the new Bella could take anything seriously.
"So, what do we do?" Sam asked from the head of the pack.
"We have to train. We must prepare. Whatever Victoria is planning, we need to figure it out and we need to be ready. We have a few requests."
"What would those be?" Sam's insolence had Rosalie's lip curling up in a sneer.
"Rose," Carlisle said gently. It was only out of respect for him that she controlled herself. "We would like to request that you enroll another wolf or two in the Forks school. We would feel safer for Bella if there are groups of you everywhere."
Sam shrugged. "Done."
"I wanna go to Forks!" A voice shouted from the woods.
"Get out here boys." Sam sounded exasperated. "We'll discuss it later." Two boys stepped out of the woods. They calmly joined the ranks, stepping in front of a very young, very small wolf. The young boy allowed himself to be relegated to the back of the pack. He fell in beside Bella, trying to look tough. Bella ruffled his hair before resuming her stance. He looked at Bella like she was the sun shining. Rosalie loved it. Edward cleared his throat. I'll kill you if you don't get out of here, she thought to Edward. "What else? You said a few requests."
"Whatever is coming, we think it may be big. We would like to train you." The boys began grumbling. "My apologies, pack. I meant no offense. We would like to train with you. We are all well versed in fighting vampires. If Victoria should chance upon any wolf who is separated, for whatever reason, we would like them to have the best chance at getting away."
"Why should we train with you?"
"Because Jasper, who isn't here right now, spent years fighting in the Confederate wars. After he was turned, he trained an army of newborn vampires. His experience will be beneficial to all your wolves, especially the newer or younger ones."
Sam nodded. "I'll consider it. Anything else?"
"No. That is all we ask."
"Okay. Thank you for the information." Sam looked at the pack around him. The pack seemed to be communicating, even without their link. "We will take everything you've said into consideration." Sam turned to the Denali's. He seemed to be struggling to be cordial. "Will you be remaining here long?"
"We intend to visit for a while, yes. Just until we know everyone is safe." Tanya tried to keep her tone in check. It didn't work.
Sam showed no emotion. "We have boundaries here. We assume friends of the Cullen's will follow the treaty." It wasn't a question.
"We have been informed. We have no intention of being on your land."
"Thank you." Sam nodded. "We'll take our leave now. We have lots to talk about." Sam did his best to be polite as he said, "Thank you for meeting us." What, no nice to meet you? Rosalie sneered in her mind. She knew she had an expressive face too, so she tried to reign it in. "We appreciate your information and your respect of our boundaries. Have a nice day." The wolves began backing away.
Bella followed their lead. She threw a peace sign to all the Cullen's, but smiled and winked at Rosalie. The boy tried to stay, so Bella wrapped a forearm around his shoulders and pulled him with her. We have to schedule that date, Rosalie thought to herself.
"Schedule what?" Edward gasped. Rosalie was usually so good at keeping her thoughts guarded around Edward.
The wolves were disappearing into the forest. "Oh Bella, do come back soon! I would love to see more of you," Kate yelled. She tsk'ed under her breath.
"Edward, I always knew you were an idiot, but damn. You let that one get away?" Edward was still gaping at Rosalie. She walked into the house and slammed the front door. It hit the frame hard enough to make her point, but not so hard that it broke the door. She didn't want to have to buy Esme a new door again.