The Feature Story is posted with permission of the Author!!!
Atonement by BetterinTexas
Chapter 10
Don't own it.
BPOV
"This is dumb."
"It's not dumb, Miss Swan." Connolly said once again not changing my opinion that this was dumb.
We were in a big airplane. It was loud. Very loud. I was glad the venom in my body controlled my temperature. Judging by the way Connolly and his team were sweating, it would have been hell to be in here as a human.
"I don't need a parachute." I grumbled.
"We are all wearing chutes, Bella." Garrett said softly in my ear.
"I can't die from a fall. I tried. No matter how high I fell from, I always landed in one piece. No chute needed."
I guess that caught Jason's attention. Maybe Garrett didn't tell him about my failed suicide attempts.
"Ma'am, we need to go down together. That way we all land in the same general area. Plus, you coming down at three hundred miles an hour may alert the enemy to our location. We would like to keep this as quiet as possible."
"Fine."
"Okay. We go in three teams, circling the last known location of the SRT team in a five mile radius. Look for any possible survivors. These guys in SRT are special ops, too. There may be some holding on. Look for hostile forces. Anticipate that they may possibly be werewolves. All weapons are loaded with silver. Blades are silver. Stay in teams of 4. Garrett is in charge of one team. Ty another, and I am running the third…"
"Hold the fuck up." I said.
Connolly stopped talking. Ty looked away.
"Yes, Miss Swan?"
"Why do Garrett and Ty get to lead a team, but I don't? I'm a vampire." I unnecessarily pointed out.
"Do you have any experience leading special ops teams against a possible werewolf enemy, Miss Swan? If you do, I will be glad to step aside."
Oh.
"Do you have any experience?" I countered. I mean how many werewolves could he have really fought?
"I've led teams on fourteen different occasions against werewolf packs."
Oh.
"I guess you can lead then." I mumbled.
"What was that, Miss Swan? It's loud in here. I didn't quite catch that."
The asshole was smiling. I shot the finger at him while baring my teeth.
"Okay. We land. Spread out. Radio is very sensitive. Speak at very low volume. Let's talk about what we know about werewolves. Strong in human from. Vicious. Can turn at any time into a four legged killer, but strongest and deadliest during full moons, the only time they have to turn. The last few days have been gearing towards tonight. A full moon. We will be touching down around sunset. If we don't get any survivors out tonight, there won't be any survivors. They will most likely be in tree tops."
"What are the expected enemy numbers sir?" One of the dumbasses asked. Garrett answered.
"Unknown. A single werewolf could have caused this damage to an unsuspecting team. We only suspect werewolves because this area has a history of them. They live in the wild even as humans, and are extremely feral. Their only goal will be death. They kill what is in front of them. Humans or vampires. If the teams were taken down this quickly, I would assume that there is more than one. That means a pack. I would say, from experience, ten or so. Be prepared for anything." Garrett looked at me as he said this.
"Jump in five minutes. Let's get ready." Jason finished.
I walked towards my pack when Garrett held me back.
"You okay?"
"Yeah." I told him more confidently than I felt.
"You remember what we talked about? Don't let them bite you. Use your rifle and sidearm so you don't have to get closer than necessary. If you get in close combat, you are stronger, but not by much. Use your blade. Let the Seals take their shots. That's what they are there for. Connolly has these men trained to fight werewolves and similar creatures. Trust him, and do as he says. Okay?"
"Yeah. I got it, Garrett."
"Just…just come back to me in one piece. If they bite, they can tear you apart. It would hurt to get put back together. Let's make sure we don't have to okay?"
"I know. I'll come back to you." I promised. I hoped I could keep that promise.
He leaned down to kiss me on my cheek.
"Team X prepare for insertion!" Jason yelled. Ty giggled. Garrett and I looked at him.
"Come on, man. He could have said prepare to jump. He does that shit on purpose."
Garrett shook his head, then checked my pack one more time.
I walked to the door and looked out. This was a lot different than parasailing and jumping off mountains. I did those activities during the day. The sun had set, so it was dark. The moon lit up the sky, but still…
"C'mon Swan! You want to live forever? Oops. Never mind." Connolly laughed. He then jumped out of the plane. His three team members followed him without hesitation. Shit. I walked to the edge, but paused.
"Have a nice trip, Bella!" I heard Ty say at the same time his hand hit my back, sending me falling into the abyss.
I really loved him sometimes.
Falling at one hundred miles an hour through darkness while screaming was not one of those times.
"Bella?"
Jason? Oh yeah. Radio.
"Yes?"
"Stop screaming. We are trying to sneak in, remember?"
"Oh. Sorry. Can I scream until I hit the ground?"
I heard static in my helmet. Then his voice again.
"I would appreciate it if you didn't. This is an open mic, you know?"
Oh yeah.
"Sorry."
"No problem, ma'am. Pull your ripcord in five seconds. Oh…Garrett wanted me to remind you to pull it gently. Like tying your shoes."
Okay.
I pulled. It didn't break. The chute flew out…Oh shit!
Damn that jerked.
I hit the ground, but forgot to roll. Instead I just landed. Standing straight up, the chute fell over me. I moved out from under it as quietly as I could.
"Bella?" Connolly whispered over the radio.
"Yeah?"
"You make it down?"
"No. I'm stuck in the air." I whispered through the radio. I could do sarcasm too.
Silence.
"Liar. I see you."
I turned to see the others about fifty feet away. I was in front of him in a second. They took off their chutes. That reminded me. Yeah. Jason just gave me a look. A look that said the dumbass girl forgot to unhook her parachute.
I ripped the clips off and felt it float away.
"Stay next to me." He whispered. We were all dressed in solid black. I even had black face paint on. I'm not sure why.
"I'm the vampire. You stay next to me." I whispered back.
I turned and smelt it. Holy shit. That was a strong smell.
I turned back to Connolly.
"I think I smell werewolf."
"Get down!" Connolly had his gun drawn. I hit the ground and he fired his silenced weapon.
A werewolf body fell in front of me.
I looked up to see him smirking.
"I told you I smelt werewolf." I mumbled.
"I doubt that's the only one. Try using your eyes, not just your nose." He grinned.
So he got the first one. The rest were mine. Garrett was right. This guy was an asshole.
GPOV
My team hit the ground safely. Bella had stopped screaming half way down. I checked the surroundings. Mountains all around us. We were in a valley surrounded on all four sides. A natural kill box. If this pack of wolves lived in the nearby mountains, having the high ground, the idea of killing them all goes out the window. We needed to find if there were any survivors.
"Connolly, do you have any targets spotted?" I asked over the radio.
"Yeah, Bella sniffed one out that nearly decapitated her as soon as we hit the ground. Target is now neutralized."
Oh, dear God. I should have kept her with me.
"Is she okay?" I whispered.
"I'm fine." A low growl came over the airwaves. She sounded annoyed.
Okay then.
I took a whiff of the air. This was bad.
Wolves had to be everywhere to saturate the open air with this scent. The land stunk with them.
"Jack. Get the drone up. Infrared. We need to determine hostile numbers. Quickly."
"What do you have, Gar?" Ty asked.
"Do you smell it, Ty?"
"Yeah. I smell it here. Smells like they are everywhere. I ain't ever smelled wolf this strongly."
"Ty, we need to run in to find the crash site and battle sites. See if we can find any survivors. Then we are getting out of this area. This terrain is in their favor. No point risking any more than necessary on a full moon night. We can come back to clear the area during the day."
"Copy, G-Man."
I turned to the others to see they had frozen. I looked in the direction they were staring and saw them. All ten of them.
Snarling, approaching slowly. My scent must have them wary, but they would attack.
A chorus of howls filled the air all around.
We came for a fight. Looks like we are about to get one.
"Garrett?"
"Yeah, Jack?"
He motioned for me to silence my mic. I did so.
"How did it go this weekend?"
What?
"What are you talking about, Jack? Let's focus on the werewolves approaching us."
"I am. We got them in sight. We were just all wondering. Everything go good?"
"Yes, Jack. Everything went good."
"Did you kiss her?"
I smiled at the memory. Then my mind came back to the present.
"What difference does it make? Focus on the fight."
"It's just the guys all know you have been alone like…forever. Least since the United States has existed. It ain't right. We just are kinda hopin this works out for you."
"Thank you, Jack. Yes, we did kiss."
"Way to go, Garrett. She's hot, man. Even for a vampire. Especially considering how she looked when she first showed up. She cleans up real nice." Malcolm said from behind me.
"Thank you, Mal. Now mics on. Let's kill some wolves. The wolves took that moment to charge. We opened fire. Even me. No point in getting close if I don't have to. Four went down immediately. Six came through as we continued to fire.
"Cover me with fire. I'm going to get close." I said. In my mic I heard fire open up elsewhere. I could hear it coming from Bella and Ty's location. I charged one wolf, hitting him in the snout. Another tried to jump me from the side, but I tore his jaws apart. I felt one behind me, then turned to see him falling out of the air. One of the Seals shot him.
"On your six!"
I turned to see four more wolves had descended and were charging my Seals from behind. I picked up a wolf body, tossed it over their heads, knocking the two closest wolves down.
I heard a scream over the radio. I had to get my head straight. I had to concentrate and kill these wolves. Then I had to get to Bella. This was too much. First she fights a demon on her own, now I bring her to a werewolf convention.
I pulled my blade and turned, slitting the throat of one wolf behind me.
"Think we should retreat?" Bobby asked.
"Retreat hell. We just got here." I responded.
BPOV
"Jesus, that's a lot of fucking dogs." I whispered. We were surrounded. By at least ten of these fuckers.
"Is this normal? I whispered to Connolly. Our mics were off, but I could hear the battles of the other team. I had to kill these wolves so I get to Garrett. Ty too.
"No. A pack of ten is large. Judging by the action goin on around us, I would say we were in the middle of an infestation. We need to work our way to the middle. That's where the crash site is. Let's move."
Connolly opened fire at the wolves in front of us, while the guy named Derek fired behind us with his two friends. We slowly started moving forward. I started shooting my rifle. I had only practiced a few times, but my enhanced eyesight made me a hell of a shot. I shot two in the head. I had a long blade strapped to my back in case I ran out of ammunition. One got through.
He was heading for Jason. I jumped over him and tackled the wolf. We rolled and he was on top of me on the ground. What did Garrett say? Don't get close.
Oh damn, he was snarling, and wolf spit just landed on my face. I kicked him in the air, then a bullet struck him in the midsection. rolling him over.
Damn what a rush. I wiped the spit off my face with my sleeve as I ran to my team.
"Thanks." Connolly grinned.
I didn't respond. I was busy looking for the next target. I picked up my gun, and one was on me. I fired point blank, hit him in the skull. The silver bullet cracked his head, blood covered my face.
Great. Blood and spit. Damn this was nasty.
We continued to move. We had made it approximately one hundred yards. The wolves had gone for cover, but were still trailing us.
"They are herding us." Connolly said. "Make a break for it. Stay tight. Bella, stay behind to cover our backs."
They took off running, so I ran behind them. Movement caught the corner of my eye. A grey wolf shot out. I fell, twisting his neck by his ears as he went by. They can heal from what Garrett told me, so I took my blade, slamming it in the top of his skull. I heard growling, but realized quickly it was me.
This was amazing. What a fucking rush!
"Hold up!" Connolly yelled. I turned back to see they had six wolves in front of them. Gunfire sounded closer. I suppose we were all making our way towards the middle. I ran past my team, jumping over their heads as they lay down fire at the dogs. They attacked me. Two were struck with bullets before they could get to me. Using my blade , I started cutting at the other four. I saw teeth, fur, blood and silver flashing. More gunfire. I sliced the throat of one wolf, nearly decapitating him.
The gunfire ended. I looked around to see my team on one knee, facing every direction in a tight formation.
"Bella, get back here." Jason said. I ran back and stood in front of them. We began moving.
We made it about another two hundred yards with no resistance. I saw the chopper, but not the other teams.
"Garrett, Ty. Check in." Jason said quietly over the mic.
"My team is good. We have approximately eighteen kills." Garrett responded. Thank God he was okay. Why wouldn't he be, though? He knew what he was doing.
"I'm good. All team accounted for. I think we have moved past the major resistance. Moving to the site." Ty responded.
"Copy. We have reached the site. No sign of survivors. We are going to check and blow the Hawk. Check radius for survivors."
"Copy." Garrett and Ty both responded.
"Bella, you smell anybody?" Jason asked me.
"In this stink? No. I don't think so."
"Okay. Blow the Hawk, men. We are getting out of here."
I watched the men wire explosives to the chopper. Connolly was scanning the area, so I pulled my small gun from my waist to do the same. I heard a scream. I smelt blood. Human blood.
I looked to see a wolf had jumped out of the chopper, hitting the Seal named Toby. Fuck. The other Seal, Jonesy I think his name was, was struck with a paw in the head and went down. Jason and I fired at the same time. The wolf collapsed on Toby. I rushed to him, tossed the wolf away.
The smell hit me hard and I froze.
"Oh damn." Jason whispered. Toby was laying on the ground shaking. The wolf had gotten his leg. Red, red blood that I could see clearly even at night, was spurting out of an open wound on his thigh. I remembered high school biology. Femoral artery.
This was not good.
Garrett POV
My team met Ty's.
"Any survivors?" I asked.
"Yeah. One. I pulled him out of a tree. He was bunkered in. I guess the wolves gave up trying to get him. He's dehydrated. He's delirious. He most likely will think the big black vampire pulling him from a very tall tree was a delusion. We're good." Ty responded.
"Garrett?" Connolly's voice crackled over the radio.
"Go ahead."
"Circle the teams around our position, then contact the base for a helo evac. We need to get out of here. We have two men down. Bella and I can handle that. Keep the hordes who get brave off of us, and let me know the coordinates of the LZ."
Bella was okay. Two men down but not dead. Okay.
"Copy. We have one survivor."
Silence.
"One is more than I thought we would get. Keep your eyes open, Gar. We need to leave. Now."
I couldn't agree more.
BPOV
Oh God. Oh God. So much blood. Oh God.
"Bella? Bella!"
I turned my attention to Jason.
"I need to get this packaged and covered. Hold this clip."
I looked at his hand, which was practically inside the wound. He had a plastic tip attached to an artery in Toby's leg.
"I…I can't." Damn my throat burned when I spoke. My damn mouth was drooling.
"I'm sorry. I…"
"Bella, he has a wife and kids. Three kids. All under the age of eight. If I let go of this clip, he bleeds out before I can get a packing on in, let alone get his leg stabilized for transport. I want to go home. Toby needs to get home to his wife and kids. We need you, Bella."
"I'll break it. My touch…"
"Is fine. Running out of time, Bella."
Shit. I held my breath as I bent down, reaching towards his hand slowly.
"Stop shaking. You can tear the artery worse."
I froze my hand as best I could. My hand was soaked in blood. Damn I wanted to lick my fingers. I gently grabbed the clip before Jason took his hand off.
"Talk to him, Bella." Jason whispered.
"Hey Toby. How you doing?" I asked quietly trying not to breathe in.
"Oh, you know. Got my leg torn open by a werewolf. Other than that, pretty good. How was your weekend with Garrett?"
What?
"It…it was great."
"Yeah? What did you do?"
"We went parasailing. We went to a Jimmy Buffett concert, and he made me wear this ridiculous outfit. He took me to a play. It was a comedy. How…are you hurting?"
"Not really. I've had worse."
"Really?" Because this was a lot of damn blood. The clip, however, was slowing it down.
"Yeah. So how was your mother?"
"You know about my mother?"
"It's a small team. We talk. Great job killing the demon."
"Thanks, Toby."
"No problem. We were investigating a Yeti at an Antarctic research station once, and ran into one. Garrett took him out, but they are some tough bastards."
"Wow."
"So you and Garrett had a nice time?"
"Yeah. It was really great."
"So did you…"
"Did I what?" I asked.
"He wants to know if you kissed." Jason said beginning to wrap Toby's leg and pulling out a splint.
Damn his blood smelt so good. I was so hungry. I swear my stomach just growled.
"Yeah…Yeah we kissed."
"Damn it!" Connolly spit out.
"What?"
"We had a pool going in the team. Half of us didn't think Garrett had the guts to make a move."
That pissed me off a little. But I couldn't be angry. If I let go of this clip the blood was going to get ten times worse. Plus Toby would die. He had a wife and kids. Please Bella. Don't kill him.
"Bella, you are drooling. I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't eat me." Toby sort of chuckled.
"As if." I laughed, sounding more confident than I felt.
"So how is your mother? You never said."
"Much better. She seems okay. She's different. Changed. I'm almost afraid to see my dad. I don't know. I nearly killed my mom, and my dad never took good care of himself before, so I'm worried…"
"Okay. Stabilized. Bella, I am going to clip the other side of his artery, then put a better clip on the one you are holding. We are going to put him gently on a board. I will carry Jonesy out. You carry the board, get him to the LZ. Okay?"
I nodded. A minute later, Toby was secure.
I heard Garrett give out coordinates. I didn't know where they were so I kept up with Jason, who was carrying Jonesy out. He believed he was just knocked out.
We emerged out of the woods into a clearing. Garrett and Ty, along with the rest of the Seals, were there.
A chopper was landing.
Garrett and Ty looked at me, then the bloody man on a board, who I was carrying in front of me like an offering.
Seals grabbed Toby from me, rushing him to the chopper.
A howl rose from behind us. We turned, then out of the tree line, I saw a monster emerge. He was at least eight feet tall. He was hunched over, but standing on two legs. His body was massive, his head shaped like a wolf. A very large wolf.
"Connolly, get your Seals out of here. Get Toby treatment, then send the chopper back here." Garrett told him.
"What about you three?"
"We are going to finish this."
GPOV
"Garrett, what the fuck is that?" Ty asked.
The chopper lifted. I don't imagine the pilot had a chance to see this monster.
"That is the pack master."
"And we are about to light his ass up." Jason said from behind me.
"Didn't I tell you to go back?"
"Yeah. Show me the chain of command where I answer to you, and I will accept my official reprimand for disobeying a direct order."
He slammed a fresh clip in his rifle. I looked at Bella. She was covered in human blood but her only focus at the moment was on the monster in front of us.
"Okay. Let's introduce ourselves. Ty?"
Ty stepped forward and the pack master stumbled. He fell to his knees, then rose.
"Huh. Tough motherfucker. We gonna have to go old school on his ass." Ty said.
"He's old. If he can stand up while being hit with your power, Ty, he is one tough son of a bitch. Bella, stay…"
Before I could say back, she charged.
"Time to deliver a beat down." Ty charged.
I ran after them. I was almost there when Bella was tossed back towards me. I caught her in the air, then landed her behind me. Ty took a hit, hit the ground, then came back up striking the beast in his bottom jaw. Connolly opened fire. The beast took three to the chest, smoke rising from the holes. He howled, but began stalking towards us. I stepped up and he swiped at me. I dodged, kicking him in the stomach. He bent over a bit more. I hit him with an uppercut. Bella jumped on his back, planting a silver blade in the top of his skull. She couldn't get it all the way through. This fucker must be thousands of years old.
He swung at me again, and I drew my blade. His paws struck it, slicing three of his fingers off. Ty hit him in the eye. Bella grabbed another eye from her perch on his back. I grabbed his jaws. He turned his head, making Bella flew off, and taking his eyeball with her. Ty began concentrating again. Perhaps without one eye, and he other one bruised, his power may work better. I grabbed his throat and pulled. I couldn't rip his throat out, but I could crush his larynx.
He kicked me off, falling to his knees, clawing at his missing eye with one hand and his stomach with his other. I suppose Ty's power was wearing him down. Connolly ran up, placed his rifle into the eye socket hole, and opened fire. The bullets finally worked their way out of his skull. I jumped back on him, hitting his chest. I continued to hit his chest. His breast plate finally broke. Using my fingers I struck into the now-soft tissue to grab his beating heart.
I squeezed as I ripped it out.
We all stepped back to look at his mutilated corpse.
Connolly took a deep breath.
"That was easier than last time. Having help makes a difference." He noted. I had to agree.
I turned to check on Bella. She was breathing hard. She dropped the eyeball in her hand as I grabbed her, tracing her body while sniffing for injuries.
"I'm fine, Garrett." She sort of laughed.
"If you want to feel me up for injuries, you can, Garrett. I'm good, by the way." Ty offered. Connolly laid down on the ground, laughing.
"God, what a fucking life! How do people live without this?"
Ty and Bella looked at me, so I nodded in response to their unasked question. He was slightly insane.
"Jason, there is something I don't understand." Bella said.
"What's that, Bell?"
"If Toby has three young children, why is he on this team? Shouldn't he be doing something safer?"
"Toby? Toby doesn't have children. He has a different woman every time I see him." I said.
Bella glared at Jason.
"You lied to me?"
"Seemed like a good idea." He shrugged.
"So anybody got any idea how long it's gonna be before that chopper comes back?" Ty asked.
I shook my head. Ty, apparently, had an idea for passing the time.
"Well since we got time, why don't we all have a seat, then you two can tell us about your weekend. Especially the kissin part. What about it, Bella? Can Garrett kiss good, or is he all sloppy, tongue everywhere drooling like a teenager getting to second base?"
"Yeah, Bella. Give us the details?" Connolly agreed.
Where the fuck was that chopper?
Chapter 11: Chapter 11
Don't own it.
TY POV
"You can't come in." Connolly told the dogs for the fifth time.
"She is a vampire. One who has killed humans. We have to protect Charlie. I understand that she is doing well, but we are doing this for both their protection." The guy named Sam Uley said. The rest of these fuckers was eyeballing me. Fuck em. I'll slay their furry asses. Bitches better ask somebody who the fuck I am, before shit gets real.
Connolly chambered a round in his rifle. His other Seals did as well.
"She is having a nice conversation with her father. If you people go in there her instincts are going to make her edgy. You need to stay away. She can talk to you later, Jake. All of you if she wants. But for right now, you are going to stay away from her." Jason said.
"And if something happens to Charlie?" Uley asked.
'Nothin is gonna happen. Gar is in there with her. Why don't you boys take your asses back to the reservation, before Connolly and his guys fill you bitches full of lead?"
"Who the hell are you?" Jake asked.
"Tyrone Gavin, fool. I take care of her now. So back the fuck off. Why the hell are you even here? I don't remember sendin you an invitation. Charlie didn't ask for you. Get your asses gone."
"You best watch how you talk to us, Leech." One of the band said.
"You best watch your step, Wolf. We killed a shit load of dogs lately. A few more won't make a difference." Jonesy told him, painting the dude's forehead with his laser scope.
"Let's go." Sam said. "If something happens to Charlie it's on you." He pointed at me. He, apparently, didn't want to blame the eleven Seals that currently had firearms pointed at his boy band. And the girl of course. Damn she was fine. Even if she did stink, that was one fine piece of ass. I winked at her. She sneered. Guess there wasn't gonna be a West Side story for us. Damn shame. Girl don't know what she is missin.
They all turned and left, except for Jake.
"How is she doing?" he asked me.
"Damn good. Girl is something else. She saved one of our guys. Held his severed artery together with her finger while Jason bandaged him up."
"She held him while he was bleeding?"
"Yep." That act had pretty much solidified Bella as being part of the team in their eyes. She saved one of ours. She got placed in the worst possible position a young vampire could be placed in, and she did her job.
"Yeah, she will be fine with her Dad. If you want to talk to her, we will call you when she is done… but you know as well as I do, that your scent will set her on edge. We don't want accidents happening. So leave her in peace." Jason finished.
Jake nodded, then walked towards the woods at the back of Charlie's house. Bella was inside with Garrett and Charlie. I hoped she didn't hear all this, but I am sure she did.
I knew she would want to talk to him. She loved him. He still loved her. He had the look of a guy who could get used to her smell. Nothing would ever change that.
Hope Garrett could handle that.
BPOV
"You look great, Baby." Dad said with misty eyes.
"Thanks, Dad. So do you." I lied. He was thinner. His hair had grey streaks in it. There were wrinkles under his eyes.
"No I don't, but thanks for lying to your old man." He grinned.
"Can I hug you?" He asked.
I nodded my head, unable to speak. He wrapped me in his arms as he tried to pull me in. I helped him a bit.
"Wow, Bells. You are solid."
"Yeah."
"Solid is good. You will need to be tough to deal with this craziness. Ty tells me you’ve been doing good? Trip to your Mom's went okay?"
Ty? Of course he did.
"Yeah. Went good."
"Good. She has had a rougher time than even I did."
"Dad, I'm sorry I didn't…"
"I never would have believed you, Bella. I'm sorry for that. So what have you been up to?"
"I killed a lot of werewolves."
Dad immediately looked outside.
"Not Jake and his friends, Dad."
"Oh. That's good. I guess…so where were these wolves?"
I saw Garrett had slipped out. I was good. It would take a lot of blood to make me lose it. Especially after the last few weeks.
"Bosnia."
"You were in Bosnia? What the hell were you doing there?" Dad sat down, so I sat next to him.
"Well it started when a helicopter crashed…"
A few hours later, I had caught Dad up to date on my activities since meeting Garrett. He paled a little when I told him about my battle with the demon.
"I'm proud of you, Bella." He patted my leg.
"Thanks, Dad."
"So what next?"
"I don't know. We are going to go back to Washington, wait for whatever happens next."
"Are you…are you going to talk to Jake?"
I took a breath.
"Yeah. I want to."
"Good. I know he really wants to see you."
"Yeah. I will talk to him before I leave. I promise."
"What about them?" Charlie said them like a curse word. I didn't have to ask who them was.
"I talked to them. All of them. Briefly. I said goodbye."
"More than they deserved."
I shrugged my shoulders.
"Maybe, but if I am going to stop blaming myself for the past, I am going to stop blaming everyone else. The woman who did this is dead. Edward killed her."
"He did?" Charlie asked surprised.
"Yeah."
"So what was he like when you saw him?" Dad asked.
"He was…nice. You know Edward. Always proper."
"Yeah. He was a jackass." Charlie seemed to agree.
"I didn't say he was a jackass, Dad." I laughed a little.
"No? I thought you did. You are right, though. He was a jackass."
That made the both of us laugh. Dad always did make me feel safe. Like everything would be okay.
"So... Garrett, huh?"
"Dad, we are just getting to know each other." I rolled my eyes. He was as bad as the Seals.
"He looks like the kind of guy that would take care of you the way you deserve to be taken care of."
"Yeah. He is." I agreed.
"Good. So you two are…close?"
I laughed to hide my discomfort.
"We gonna talk about boys, Dad?"
"Nah, I guess not." He laughed.
Wait a minute, Bella.
"You know, I'm sorry. I shouldn't hide anything. I want you to know. I thought, at first, that maybe I was just really grateful for what Garrett had done for me. But... I care for him. I really, really care for him. He…he makes me…better. I feel like a better person when I am with him." I told Dad honestly.
He kissed my cold cheek, but didn't flinch. "Thanks for sharing that, Bells."
"I realize neither of us open up much Dad, but I am going to work to change that. I want you to know about my life. Just remember a lot of it is top secret, so you can't tell anyone." I smiled at him, letting him know I was half kidding.
"Bella, who in the world would believe me?"
"Good point, Dad." We both heard a wolf howl in the distance.
"You should go talk to him." Dad said. I nodded my head and stood up.
"You will come back tonight? You and Garrett. Ty? There is a game on. I don't really watch them anymore, but I was thinking we could all hang out?"
My eyes were wet. I wish I could cry.
"Yeah, Dad. That would be great." I leaned over, kissing him on his cheek.
"I love you, Bella."
"I love you too, Daddy."
I stood to walk outside, trying to remember to move like a human. I had gotten better at it. It was becoming more natural.
Garrett and Ty were outside, while the rest of the guys were in the backyard. I heard Charlie walk out and introduce himself. They had all insisted on coming. Ty hinted that they didn't exactly trust the wolves. At least not to antagonize me. I knew they wouldn't, but I did feel better having my guys with me. They were my family now. All of them. They were mine.
"Where is he?" I asked Garrett. Garrett turned to look at the woods.
"You want one of us to come with?" He asked.
I shook my head. We would be okay. Underneath all the supernatural bullshit, we were still just Jake and Bells.
At least I hoped so.
I took off into the woods, catching his scent immediately. He was two hundred yards away. If I needed breath, I would have lost it.
I forgot how damn beautiful he was.
He was leaning against a tree in only a pair of cut off shorts. He had that little grin. Those gorgeous eyes. That incredible body.
And he stunk.
I imagine I stunk pretty bad to him as well.
"Hey, Jake."
"Hey, Bells. You know when I dreamed of seeing you again, I never imagined you would bring two vampires who weren't Cullen's and a military escort with you."
"Yeah. Sorry about that. They are kind of protective."
"It's cool. I'm glad. You can stay, you know. Here. With Charlie."
"I don't think your friends would appreciate that, Jake."
"Fuck them. You belong here. This is your home." Jake stepped towards me.
"Not anymore, Jake. I don't belong here. You know it."
"I know I still love you. I know I will never stop. I don't care about your scent. I love you. It doesn't matter that you are a vampire."
Like with Charlie, I wanted to cry.
"Jake…I'm sorry…"
He sighed.
"I had to try." Jake looked so sad. I felt my heart breaking. I never wanted to see Jake sad.
"I'm sorry about your dad, Jake. What happened?"
"He was ill. Diabetes. He…it was just his time, I guess…"
"I'm so sorry, Jake."
"It's okay. The past year was tough. First losing you, and then Dad. But I got through. Knowing you are out there, somewhere, makes it better."
"I'll always be out there for you, Jake. You will always be my sunshine."
"I don't want to lose you, Bella."
"You won't."
"So you seem close to this Garrett guy."
"What makes you say that?" I became instantly defensive. I don't know why. Jake would never hurt Garrett.
"Just the way you are around him. How comfortable you seem around him. The way you two seem to revolve around each other. How you always look to make sure he is near. I don't even think you realize you are doing it. You look at him like you once looked at me."
Oh.
"Yeah. Garrett has been great. He really saved my life. I mean, he could have killed me. I wanted him too, but he refused. I don't know why…"
"He knew you were too special to let go." Jake stepped a little closer. His scent was setting me on edge. Every cell in my body wanted to get into a defensive stance, to defend myself. Every cell in my heart wanted him to hold me.
He opened his arms.
"Can I get a hug?"
I nodded my head because I couldn't talk. My best friend, my only lover. My warmth and happiness.
I rushed into his arms, ignoring my physical instincts. He wrapped his very hot arms around me and pulled me in. I closed my eyes, just letting him hold me.
I felt moisture on my head, then realized Jake was crying. I looked up, and he had tears streaking his beautiful face.
"Jake, please don't cry. It's not right. You should never cry."
He chuckled a little.
"You are just going to have to deal with it this time, Bells."
I don't know how long we stood there holding each other. I was brought out of my peaceful place in Jake's arms by a sound and a scent.
Wolves were around.
Jake growled.
"Leave us alone." He told the invisible pack. Invisible but present. I heard a low growl. I backed up, this time did become defensive. Jake sensed it, stepping closer to me.
"It's okay, Bella."
I heard his voice, but my entire focus was on the phased wolf who had invaded our moment. I had enough sense to remember where I was though, and how many wolves there actually were. I pressed the button on the side of the black watch Garrett had given me. The one that was perfectly in sync with the same one the rest of the team wore. The one that had a GPS tracker in it, so any of us could be found quickly. The one that let him know I needed him.
A silver wolf stepped out of the tree line. Paul.
Two others were behind him. Jake stepped in front of me. I stepped around to stand by his side.
We were having a nice moment. They ruined that. I was not happy.
"Jake, it's time you came home." Sam said stepping out from behind a tree.
"I'll come home when I damn well feel like it. You aren't my father." Jake said.
"I am not your father but I am your alpha. Despite how we feel about Bella, it is time to let her go. She is one of them now."
That kind of pissed me off.
"You are alpha because I let you be alpha. Don't forget it, Sam."
"Jake. It's time to say goodbye."
"I'll never say goodbye to her, Sam. You really want to start a fight? If you do, I promise you I will take over as alpha, and I will take you down." Jake told him.
Sam was about to say something. I think. I'm not sure, because the next second, Sam Uley was on the ground. Grabbing his stomach.
He just vomited. His eyes were rolling up in his head. He was rolling around.
Ty.
The wolves growled. Six came out of the woods. I recognized most of them. Leah, Embry, Jared, Quil, Seth and one I didn't recognize stepped in front of Sam. They turned towards me. Jake phased, standing between me and the Pack. Garrett landed in between Jake and the Pack. Then Ty stood next to Garrett.
Ty and Garrett were both tense. Paul stepped forward, then jumped back when a bullet struck the ground in front of him.
Things were about to get out of hand.
Leah Clearwater jumped towards Ty. I ran towards Ty, the two of us hit her at the same time. Seth made a move for his sister, but Garrett backhanded him into a tree. Paul charged at the same time Sam rolled over and phased. I hit Sam, then looked up to see Paul about to land on me.
At least until Jake tackled him in midair.
Sam tried to get up, I pushed his snout back into the earth.
"Everybody stop!"
GPOV
Bella yelled to stop right as I was about to break the neck of one of these dogs. I wanted them to give her space. I tried to be nice. I tried to be reasonable. But they decided they had to become involved. I told them to stay away.
The time for being nice as over. I was ready to annihilate these fuckers. Connolly and his boys caught up. They had formed a circle around the clearing we were battling in. Caught in a crossfire, if I gave the signal, the wolves were fucked.
Jake was defending Bella.
Against his own pack.
Damn.
The fighting stopped for the moment. The wolves may have taken that moment to notice the laser dots painting them. We all heard the rounds being chambered.
I walked up to Uley. Grabbed him by his throat.
"You want to explain to me why you felt the need to attack Bella, or shall I go ahead and rip your throat out?"
"Garrett, put him down." Bella told me.
I threw him to the ground. She didn't say how I had to let him go.
"Jake. You need to say goodbye to her." Sam gasped through his nearly crushed throat. A damn shame he would heal.
"You need to mind your own business, Sam." Jacob growled out. I turned to see he was naked. Oh great. Bella noticed too.
"You motherfuckers better turn human in the next few seconds, or I'm declaring hunting season on big ass wolves in Washington State." Connolly said walking up. Within seconds, the wolves were human. Naked humans.
"Why didn't you leave us alone, Sam?" Bella asked. She didn't sound angry. She sounded genuinely curious.
"Jake has a responsibility to the tribe as the next chief. He has not taken the reigns as either chief or alpha because he is holding on to you, Bella. We all loved you, but you died. Jake needs to move on, not hold on to you for an hour. You are our enemy now. Jake needs to understand that."
I was ready to rip his throat out. Ty stepped up beside me. I suppose he felt the same.
It was Bella who pushed us both aside, then grabbed Uley by the neck and threw him backwards.
"You son of a bitch! I am not fucking dead! If he wants to hold me for days that is between us. Don't you ever interfere again, or I swear to God, I will wipe La Push off the face of the damn Earth!"
Bella was growling. She was snarling. The silver wolf tried to phase, but Ty hit him with his power. Now he was a naked man rolling on the ground, and…yep, he just vomited. Another wolf began to shimmer. A gunshot rang out, the young man's leg was struck. He fell to the ground screaming, clutching his now bleeding leg.
Jake stepped up next to Bella.
"You want me to step up, Uley? Fine. I will step up. I will be your damn alpha. I'm going to start now."
"With the scent of leech on you? You are a traitor. You have always put everything, your tribe, your pack, everything second to this woman."
I watched Jake phase, then Sam did as well. They attacked each other.
Bella moved to attack Uley, but I grabbed her.
"Let them work this out themselves." I whispered. She was snarling. Ready to fight. Her body was tense.
He held her for an hour?
She let a wolf hold her for an hour?
Not cool. I wanted to get her out of here. I wanted to…
I was jealous.
I watched the russet wolf battle the black wolf. They went after each other, neither holding back. I have a feeling Uley's anger had more to do with guilt he may have felt over Bella. Still though, he tried to hurt her. That could not be forgiven. Not by me.
Bella's eyes never left Jake. He finally gained an upper hand, and had Uley pinned to the ground by his neck. Jakes jaws were closing in. He stopped at the last moment from breaking the black wolf's neck. Something passed between them. I swear I could almost see Jake become larger.
The russet wolf stepped off the black wolf, then turned to his pack. His human pack all went to one knee in front of him. Uley phased human, then rose to his feet. As Jake turned to him, he also went to one knee.
A shimmer, and Jacob was back.
"Any of you ever say a word against Bella, or anyone she is with, and you will have to fight me. I will not go easy. That is my word. It is final. Now leave. Go back to La Push. You are never to come around Bella and I, while we are together, unless I order it. Go. Now."
The wolves began to walk back into the woods. Two helped the one with a bullet wound in his leg. The female turned to sneer at Bella.
Bella shot the finger at her. Jake walked up. He apparently wasn't bothered by being nude in front of Bella. I knew why. That wasn't puppy love that made him fight against his own pack.
They had truly loved each other. She had seen him nude before. She wasn't even embarrassed. Strange for Bella, who seemed to be embarrassed so easily. They had been lovers.
"I'm sorry, Bella." Jake said.
"I am too, Jake."
"You have nothing to be sorry for." He looked at me.
"I guess you will be taking her now?"
His words sounded as if he was asking if we were leaving. I caught the subtle subtext though.
"Yes. I will be taking her now."
He nodded. His eyes looked so sad. It would have broken my heart, if he wasn't in love with the same woman I was in love with.
"Jake? Charlie asked us to come over to watch a game with him. Would you want to…maybe come?"
Jake smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Yeah, Bella. I would like that a lot."
"See you in a couple hours? You should probably put some clothes on." Bella laughed. I agreed. Ty snickered.
A couple hours later, we were sitting in Charlie's living room. Jake and Bella were laughing about some event that happened when she lived here. Something about motorcycles and not knowing how to turn one.
Occasionally, I would get up to check the window. Connolly's men went back to the hotel. He was here, but without his men around, I wanted to keep an eye out around the perimeter. Force of habit, I suppose. When I rose, Bella looked at me each time. Her eyes followed me to the window. When she was satisfied -I suppose- that I wasn't leaving, she would return to the conversation with Jake or Charlie.
Despite the strange circumstances, Charlie looked like a new man. Jake had even begun to develop a real smile. A smile that died every time Bella glanced at me and smiled.
I loved her. Despite that events of today and her obvious bond with Jacob, I knew she loved me too. That was enough. She needed this connection. I could have lived without the connection to Jacob, but it would be alright. Jealousy was something I would have to get used to. I never felt it before. I suppose I was overdue.
We stayed the night. Jacob left around eleven. Charlie fell asleep in his recliner, so Bella laid a blanket over him and watched him sleep. It was a nice moment. Around 4 AM, her phone buzzed. She looked at it. I don't know why. Besides the people in this room -and Renee, who was not up at this hour- only one person had her number.
"What do you think?" she asked me.
"That's your decision."
"I told him we could be friends. I have ignored all his other calls. I suppose I should talk to him."
"Do you want us to leave?"
"Fuck no. I want to hear this shit. Say hi to his big ass brother. Ask that fucker how his stomach is feelin." Ty said voicing his opinion.
"Ty…" I started.
"No. Watch Charlie for me. This won't take long. I will see what he wants, tell him I am busy. I'll be just outside."
"Stay near, Bella." Jason said suddenly. We all looked at him.
"Sorry. I get that you are close to Jake, but I don't trust his friends."
I felt the same way.
"Okay," Bella agreed, then walked out to the front porch. A large part of me was glad that she didn't feel the need to have privacy.
Yes, this jealousy thing was going to take some getting used to.
Edward POV
"Are you sure this will work?"
"Edward, Bella wants to be a nomad. You want to be in her life. No one knows better how a nomad thinks than Peter." Jasper told me again.
"Relax, Eddie. Do what I say, and you will win your girl's heart in no time."
Peter. Jasper told me I had to listen to him. Bella had changed. I needed to change. I had a lot to learn. A lot of time to think over the mistakes I made. I wanted to do this right.
"So play it casual?"
"Yep. Don't act like you are desperate. Although, considering she has ignored every call you have placed so far, it may be too late for that." Peter reminded me.
"So act like I am glad to hear from her but it really didn't matter if she answered or not?"
"Yep." Peter was grinning. I wasn't sure about this. His thoughts told me he was sincere, though. He had been in a relationship as long as Jasper and Alice. Longer even.
"Okay." I dialed the number.
"Edward, remember. Whatever your instincts tell you to do, do the opposite. Don't be yourself. Ever." Peter said.
I rolled my eyes, but took his advice to heart.
I listened to the ring. She had not answered since she gave me this number. Fifteenth time is the charm.
"Hello, Edward." Her voice still set my heart racing. Metaphorically speaking.
"Hey, Bells. How are you doin? I was bored. Just thought I would see what you were up to. Done anything interesting lately?"
I looked at Peter and Jasper. They were both nodding. I guess that was good.
"Uh…no. Not really. Just running across the country. Being a nomad. How about you, Edward? Anything interesting?"
I looked at Peter. I wanted to tell her I had been thinking of her every second of every day. He told me to follow my instincts. No! He said to do the opposite of what my instincts told me to do.
"Not really. I'm beginning to get restless. I'm thinking I might follow your lead, do some traveling. Are you enjoying it? Is it what you thought it would be?"
"Yeah. It is. It's amazing. I am having so much fun with Garrett and Ty."
Ty. The large black vampire that took Emmett down so easily.
"Glad to hear it. I was wondering if you wanted to…" Peter cleared his throat. Right. Don't ask her out.
"I mean I was wondering if you were going to be around this area anytime soon. If you are, give me a call. Maybe we could catch a concert or something." I looked at Peter. He nodded his head, motioning with his hand that I should continue in this vein.
"Uh, maybe. I actually just went to a concert. Garrett took me."
"Really? Who did you see?"
"Jimmy Buffett."
I looked at Peter and Jasper in a panic,shrugging my shoulders. Who the hell?
"Soft rock singer. Big in the seventies and early eighties. Sings tropical songs. Margaritaville…" Peter whispered.
Oh. Yeah. He's still alive?
"Wow. I love Jimmy Buffett."
"You do?" she sounded like she didn't believe me. I didn't believe me either.
"Not really." I laughed.
Peter and Jasper froze.
Bella laughed. We all relaxed.
"I didn't figure he was your style. You wouldn't believe the outfit Garrett got me to wear."
"Oh really?"
"Yes. It involved a coconut bra. That's all I'm saying."
I looked at Peter. He seemed deep in thought. Probably about a coconut bra. I snapped my fingers.
He seemed to come out of his thoughts.
"She is falling in love with him. Change the subject." Peter said quickly. She is?
"So have you watched any good television shows lately?" That should be safe.
"Garrett has got me hooked on the Three Stooges. Of course, we don't have much time to watch, being nomads and all."
"Of course. It sounds like you are having a lot of fun with Garrett."
I looked at Peter and Jasper, who now had grim faces. This could not be good.
"I am. Ty too. Garrett is so easy to be with. So relaxed and funny. I haven't known him long, but I couldn't imagine life without him. Oh my God... I have to tell you what he did to Ty last week. It was so funny."
"Sounds..great Bella. I'm all ears."
This would not be easy. I hope Peter had a plan. I had a feeling that if I didn't step up my game, soon it would be too late.
Chapter 12: Chapter 12
Don't own it.
Edward POV
"She hasn't answered her phone in two weeks." I said, admittedly dejected.
"So you are going to give up?" Peter asked.
"You told me to not seem desperate. Calling every day and being ignored would seem desperate, wouldn't it?"
"Look, you are losing a battle here. She is in love with a guy she spends every moment with, traveling around, going to romantic locations, living on the edge. If you want a shot, you’d better realize your situation is desperate." Peter said in his usual blunt manner.
"So I should give up?"
"Nope. Didn't say that. Just said that you may have to act a little desperate. I mean, when she did talk to you, the two of you had a nice conversation right?"
"Yes." I told him remembering every word she said. "She talked for an hour about Garrett."
"That's not true, Edward." Alice added in.
"Yeah. She talked about that tall idiot that runs around with them for at least 15 of those minutes." Emmett grumbled. He was still not over getting taken down so easily. He should have listened to Bella's wishes.
"She asked how you were doing." Alice pointed out.
"Yeah. And you basically had nothing to say. Let's face it. You guys lead a boring life." Peter pointed out.
I was about to respond when I realized he was right.
"We don't have a boring life." Emmett countered. Peter disagreed.
"Bullshit. I don't see how Jasper can stand it. Every damn day, you all do the same thing. Carlisle goes to work. Alice reads fashion magazines. She goes shopping in the afternoon, every fucking day. Who the hell needs that many clothes? Jasper reads history books. Edward, you play that damn song on the piano every day. Emmett, you watch sports, while Esme cuts flowers and redecorates the damn house every day. Rose works on y’alls cars every day, giving them tune ups even though they are brand new fucking cars! Seriously? Meanwhile, your love is out there with a couple fucking nomads, going to concerts, running the country, seeing the sites, and probably getting her brains fucked out multiple times a day. Wake the fuck up, son! I came here to help you, but I didn't realize how bad the situation was. You have nothing to offer her. Considering how you abandoned her and she got turned against her will, it's a damn miracle she even talked to you once! Now, you want to talk about desperate, boy? You are looking at fourth down on your own ten yard line, with three seconds on the clock."
That brought silence to everyone in the house.
I finally looked at Emmett. I suppose he read the question in my face.
"Fourth down on your own ten yard line with three seconds on the clock is bad, Edward."
"Thank you, Emmett."
"Call her. Make up something. Lie. Tell her you did something cool. You killed the vampire that turned her. Maybe you can play that up." Peter suggested.
"Probably not the best idea, Peter. Bella really didn't want to talk about that when she saw us." Alice whispered.
"Can you blame her?" Rose asked.
"Call her, Edward. Maybe you can at least be friends." Jasper suggested.
"Screw that. Tell her you have a girlfriend. Tell her you killed another vampire that talked back to you. Try anything, if you really want her. ‘Cuz son, I got a feeling that train has done left the station."
I looked at my family, then at Peter. I suppose I should listen to Peter.
"Fine. I will try again. What do I really have to lose at this point?"
"Ask her on a date, Edward." Esme put in.
"A date? I am supposed to play it cool…"
"I don't care. Try honesty. If she wants you, she will want you for you. Not someone you aren't."
A chorus of disagreements arose from my family. The bad thing about reading every thought around you was…well, everything. But the worst thing is knowing what others think of you all the time, no matter how much they try to hide their thoughts.
I knew my family loved me, but they knew what I was. I knew through them what I was. Boring. Old fashioned. Depressed and sullen.
"Your right, Esme. I will just be honest. I will ask her on a date. Meet her wherever she is in the country."
I dialed the number and turned around. Everyone was staring at me.
"Can I have privacy?"
A chorus of no's arose. I suppose my humiliation shall be witnessed. Maybe not. Maybe she will say yes. She loved me once.
The phone was ringing. She picked up!
"Yo."
"Uh…is Bella available to speak? Could you tell her Edward is on the phone?"
"Nah, man. Shorty busy."
"Who is this?"
"It's him." Emmett growled.
Ty POV
I was gonna be good… but I was bored. I was watchin some hottie vamp on satellite takin a bath in a River in the Amazon. Then she got dressed and disappeared under the rain forest canopy.
Bella and Garrett were training. Bella was training. Garrett was pretty much kicking her ass. I heard her scream in frustration a few times. She left her phone on the control console. She had called Renee, then Charlie before she went in.
Her phone buzzed. I thought it might be that Jake guy or her folks. Instead, it was him. Hehe.
I really shouldn't. I knew she had been ignoring his calls since Forks a few weeks ago. She came in from that conversation to see Garrett's face. Even though she spent the whole time talking about Gar, he still seemed upset. He thought he could hide it, but he wasn't very good at it. Seeing her ex wolf boyfriend had done thrown him off his game a bit. Cullen callin didn't help.
Bella knew. She saw it in his face. Ever since then, she has been attached to his hip. She has ignored every one of dumbass's calls, yet that fucker called every day.
Bella and Garrett loved each other. It hit them hard and fast. I don't know how far it had gone, but I saw her leavin his room the other night. She told me they were watching TV. I told her I liked TV. How come Ty couldn't watch TV? She did that thing when she gets embarrassed, bitin her lip and looking at the ground. I didn't smell sex in the air, so I guess it hadn't gone that far. But still, they belonged together. Bella was too nice to say anything. But that boy needed to be put out of his misery.
Guess it was up to me to shoot the lame horse in the head.
"Yo."
"Uh…is Bella available to speak? Could you tell her Edward is on the phone?"
"Nah, man. Shorty busy."
"Who is this?"
I heard big dumbass say it's him. Damn right it's me.
"This Ty. What you want, man?"
"I want to speak to Bella? Could you at least tell her I am on the phone?"
"Nah, man. She with Garrett. I don't disturb their alone time. Right now I hear a bunch of screaming and shit. They can get carried away in their alone time."
I said nothing that wasn't true. Bella couldn't get mad about that.
"I see." I barely heard him. Pretty boy sounded so sad.
"This is Edward right? The gink with all the geetus?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You the guy with all the dough, right?"
"Oh…yes. I suppose I am. I mean my family…"
"You gotta know by now you ain't got a chance, right?"
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me." I told him, ready to put a bullet in this poor horses head.
'I don't know any such thing." Ahh. He was getting mad. Wish he was close enough to read my mind now.
"Really? You hittin the pipe? That girl's G-Man's moll. You gotta be one fucked in the head pretty boy. She is with Garrett. Savvy Kemosabe?"
"I…I'm sorry. I really have no idea what you are saying."
"Look, her and Garrett are in love, fella. Let a playa play, and be on your way. You done fucked up that girl's life enough. Why you gotta come back for more? She some sort of punchin bag for you? You didn't screw up her life enough when she was human, so you gotta do it some more now?"
"I understand. I just want to talk. To be a friend."
"A friend? A friend don't call every damn day for the past few weeks, even when the call ain't answered. Hey is that blonde sista of yours there?"
"Ye…yes."
"What she got on?"
"She's wearing a red dress. Why?"
"Is it high? Low cut? She flashin some assets? Give me the skinny, man. What is her fine ass lookin like today?"
"Fuck you, you son of a bitch." Big guy yelled in the background. I started laughing.
"Chill you big, fucker. I was just wonderin. No need to get butt hurt over it."
"Shut up, Emmett. Listen…Ty? Are you saying that Bella and Garrett are in a definite relationship?"
"I'm sayin." Fucker may be getting a clue finally.
"How serious are they?" Maybe not.
"Listen. Bella told me all about you. Even if she wasn't with Garrett what the hell makes you think you would deserve her? What have you ever done that you would deserve someone like her? Seriously? I really want to know. All the men out there, even vampire men. You think you are the one she should be with? C'mon, Eddie. We both know she can do better than you, regardless of Garrett. To answer your question, though, yeah. They are pretty damn serious. Probably gonna be havin some vampire babies pretty soon. So chill, okay? If you really love her, let her be. She can do better, can't she?"
He didn't say anything. Maybe he thought it was a hypothetical question.
"Eddie? Answer me." I told him.
"You are right. I won't bother her again."
'There's a good boy. I knew you had a brain. Take care of yourself."
I ended the call before he could say something stupid. Huh. You know, just for giggles, let's see what is goin on at Casa de Cullen.
I flipped the satellite to the one tracking their location. Zoom in. Yep. There he goes. Runnin out the house. I wonder if he is cryin? I bet he is. Damn, that mother fucker can run fast. Real gangsta's don't run from shit, cause real gangstas can't run fast. Except me. I'm one fast G.
That reminds me. It's nearly time for Bella's rapping lesson. I don't hear anymore fighting. Nope. She just moaned. Shit Garrett needs to take it easy. He says she has to be prepared, but the girl is tryin. He ain't gotta treat her like a tacklin dummy.
Uh oh. Eddie is throwin trees. The forest service ain't gonna be happy about that shit. Now he was on the ground with his face buried in his hands. Ahhh. Poor baby.
Fuck you, cock sucker. Motherfucker wrecked her life, yet thinks he got a chance. That bitch calls again, I'm usin some vacation time to go cool that fucker.
Shit, Bella just fucking moaned again. If Garrett kicked her in the stomach, I'm gonna twist his insides in and out.
I sauntered over to the training room and hit the button to open the door. Damn, what kind of training is…oh shit. Hit the button Ty. Hit the close button. Where the fuck is tha…there it is. The door done shut. Damn. I don't think they even noticed. I guess I wasn't that far off on the whole vampire baby thing.
Bella POV
"Damn it!"
I was on my ass again.
"You are thinking too much. When you are in a fight, you should flow. You should be a weapon. Not wondering if you should kick or punch. It takes a split second. Read and react. Every time. Without thinking about it."
I hopped to my feet and attacked again. I ran at him thinking I could hit him before he could react.
I took a boot in the face. Size ten, I think.
I stayed on my back this time.
"Are you okay?" He was next to me. He looked worried. Could have been worried before you planted a boot in my face.
"I'm sorry, Bella. I thought you would see it coming."
I sat up and dropped my head.
"I thought I would have seen it coming, too." I whispered.
Garrett kissed my cheek. It sent a slight shiver up my spine. Since Florida, I think the two of us have gotten closer. Since we kissed. We had kissed since then as well. A lot. But nothing else had happened. I sort of figured that it would. But he was waiting. He was waiting for me to make the move that took us to the next level. From the simple love we had, to something more serious. I wanted to take my time. I wanted us to take our time. We had plenty of time. Still, though. I was with him 24/7 literally. Normal people would go nuts being around the same person all the time. Not me. He was like a drug. A drug I couldn't get enough of. He was my addiction.
I turned my head to catch his lips before he pulled back. I kissed him gently. Too gently for my taste. I need to consume him. I grabbed the back of his head, pulled him to me. Our lips touched, and I could feel the venom in my bloodstream responding. My skin became more sensitive. I felt warmer. My nipples hardened against my sports bra to the point that I thought they would burst if they were touched.
I started taking deep breaths, inhaling as much of his scent as I could. He buried his face in my hair.
I was only wearing a sports bra and yoga pants. It was what I usually trained in. He had on only low cut blue stone washed blue jeans and that dagger chain he wore constantly. He moved to kiss me again and I stopped him. Our eyes met.
"What?" He grinned.
"It's time Garrett."
"It's time?" He looked confused. Then he got it.
"You mean it's time for…"
"I love you. I want to make love to you. I have no idea if I will be any good at this but I want to make love to you."
He stared at me so intently.
"I love you." He whispered.
"I know."
"Just the two of us?"
"I'm yours if you want me." I told him honestly.
"I've never wanted anything more in my life."
I lay back on the training mat. It was comfortable and I spent a lot of time during training lying on it.
"Here?" he smiled.
"Yep." I raised my hands over my head and he needed no invitation. His hands unwrapped my bra from my body and he saw my breasts for the first time.
I closed my eyes. Only Jake had seen me like this. It seemed a lifetime ago. I suppose it was. Even then I was too caught up in the moment to think about what I was doing. But I was thinking about this. Despite my confidence in my body I was nervous. I didn't know how he would react.
"Open your eyes." He whispered.
Once again I came out of the darkness to find him looking at me. He grinned.
"Look at me. You are beautiful. You are everything I have ever dreamed of. Never turn your eyes away from me."
I nodded and watched him like he wanted. I watched his lips brush my nipples. His tongue traced them one at a time. His fingers massaged my breasts firmly. I moaned. I thought I heard voices talking in the distance. Must be Ty. Who the hell would he be talk…
Oh God he just pressed his thumb to my pussy. He was rubbing me through my pants. His whole hand was there now rubbing back and forth. I could smell my arousal and I knew he could as well. He looked up from nibbling on my nipple. His eyes were no longer red. They were black. Deep black. I would bet mine were as well.
His fingers just gripped the top of my pants and began sliding them down. His fingers had my panties as well. I raised my ass to help him pull them off. His head dipped between my legs. Oh damn.
What is he…what is he…Oh shit! Oh damn that felt good. Now his fingers were…oh God. His tongue…right there. Oh yes please more. Yes… I have never had that done to me. Never. Oh wow. Oh…what is his thumb doing? Oh! That. Yeah. That's it.
I lost myself. Embarrassment was gone. I grabbed one of my tits with one hand and grabbed his hair with the other and pushed him harder into my pussy. I wanted to tell him more but all I could do was moan. Oh there goes his tongue on my…yes! Oh wow. Just…oh wow.
He stopped.
I whimpered. Until I saw what he was doing. He stood up and unzipped his jeans. His cock fell out. He was hard. Hard, long and thick enough that there was no way it was going to stay upright. It looked…heavy.
A growl started in my stomach and rose. I sat up and wrapped my fingers on his slender hips. I had never done this before. But I knew enough. I had read things. Since I had been spending most of the time in Garrett's room I had been spending my private time doing research on my laptop. It was good practice for my…typing skills.
I shot to my knees and knelt before him. With one hand I grabbed his shaft and with the other I grabbed his balls. I drew him to me.
He was so warm and smooth. I never really had a chance to see Jake's. But I saw Garrett's. It was right in front of me.
I hesitantly stuck my tongue out and touched the tip. He moaned.
Something about that moan gave me confidence. I could affect him. I moved with more of a purpose stroking him.
"Bella." He moaned my name. What a fucking rush. It was time to return the favor. I didn't want to think about this. I would screw it up. I just did it.
His cock was in my throat. I couldn't breathe. I momentarily panicked but remembered I didn't need to breathe.
He was though. He was breathing very heavily. I began bobbing my head back and forth. When I saw this on video I didn't think it looked very fun but I have to admit the power I was feeling. Making him buck his hips. Watching his face. I looked up as I pulled him out of my mouth. He met my eyes and I licked the length of his shaft. God the taste of his skin drove me wild. He just growled.
He lifted me by my shoulders and moved me to the floor. Flat on my back. He looked feral.
"Garrett?"
"Yes?"
"You okay?"
"Never better." He spread my legs with his hand and entered me so quickly I almost missed it. But I felt it. He lay on top of me flush, kissing my lips, parting my lips with his tongue, driving it into me. His cock filled me so completely. I remembered having sex with Jake but I could never remember the sensations. The overwhelming fullness and electricity I was feeling now. I locked my legs around him and held on to him. If I could I would melt into him.
His hands grabbed my hips. I couldn't even move. I grabbed his head and held on. I was completely in his control. He could do what he wanted with me and I never felt more free.
"I'm never letting you go. You are mine." He whispered in my ear.
"I know." I knew it when I first saw him.
"Say it." He growled.
"I'm yours."
"I'm your's too." He breathed into my ear.
"I know." I told him. He slid in and out of me faster. I felt a pressure build in me I had never felt before. My toes warmed. My legs shivered. I gripped his hips with my feet and ground myself as closely as I could. Something came over me. My body exploded in euphoria and I nearly blacked out.
He roared. His body collapsed on me. I ran my fingers through his hair while taking deep breaths. He was still in me. Still hard. I could feel his cum leaking out of me around him.
"Garrett?"
"Yeah?"
"That was…"
"Yeah." He agreed.
"Can we keep going?" I asked.
"Yep."
"Okay." Because I really didn't want to stop.
"Bella?"
"Yeah?"
"I think I bit you."
"Oh…okay. I'm pretty sure I bit you too. Was that bad?"
"No! No…that was…great. Just wanted to make sure you were good with it."
"Yeah. No I'm definitely good with it. Did I do it right?"
"Yeah, no you were great. Very…I love you."
"I love you Garrett."
"Okay. Just wanted to make sure. I wouldn't hold you to anything you might say in the throes of passion but I meant it. You are mine…I hope?"
"Yeah. I'm yours." I giggled. He could be so cocky and then sound so unsure of himself. Mostly just when it came to me. He needed to be sure.
He finally pulled his face out of my hair and smiled. He kissed me slowly but with passion. I could stay like this forever and be hap…
"Hey Garrett? Bella? If you two are done training could ya'll come on out here?" Ty asked.
"Yeah. Be right out." I said quietly. I suppose Ty knows we weren't training.
Garrett pulled out of me and I moaned. I missed the feel of him already. He helped me to my feet and I let him. We got dressed watching each other.
Walking out of the training room I figured I would find out what the hell Ty wanted then make the difficult decision of whether to go to my room or Garrett's. Maybe we could have one room.
Ty looked concerned. I tried not to bite my bottom lip and failed miserably.
"Ya'll done? Just cause I was trying to figure out how I'm gonna train in there since the smell of ya'lls bumpin gonna linger."
"That's why you called us?" Garrett asked, sounding as annoyed as I felt. I just got laid for the second time in my life and I would like to move on to the third, fourth and fifth.
"Nah. Uh, the big guy wants to meet with Bella. He has a mission for her apparently. Says he needs to talk to her personally."
"The good General does not give Bella assignments or missions or anything else. If he wants to talk to her he can…"
"Not the big guy I'm talking about Gar." Ty said.
"You mean?"
"Yeah. I mean."
"What are we talking about? Who is the big guy?" I asked, frustrated.
It was Garrett who answered me.
"Apparently Bella, the President of the United States has a mission he would like you to undertake. Of course you are under no obligation to take it…"
"No. If he…if he wants to take the chance of seeing me then it must be important. We should go."
I suppose the third time would have to wait.
Don't own it.
BPOV
"This is dumb."
"It's not dumb, Miss Swan." Connolly said once again not changing my opinion that this was dumb.
We were in a big airplane. It was loud. Very loud. I was glad the venom in my body controlled my temperature. Judging by the way Connolly and his team were sweating, it would have been hell to be in here as a human.
"I don't need a parachute." I grumbled.
"We are all wearing chutes, Bella." Garrett said softly in my ear.
"I can't die from a fall. I tried. No matter how high I fell from, I always landed in one piece. No chute needed."
I guess that caught Jason's attention. Maybe Garrett didn't tell him about my failed suicide attempts.
"Ma'am, we need to go down together. That way we all land in the same general area. Plus, you coming down at three hundred miles an hour may alert the enemy to our location. We would like to keep this as quiet as possible."
"Fine."
"Okay. We go in three teams, circling the last known location of the SRT team in a five mile radius. Look for any possible survivors. These guys in SRT are special ops, too. There may be some holding on. Look for hostile forces. Anticipate that they may possibly be werewolves. All weapons are loaded with silver. Blades are silver. Stay in teams of 4. Garrett is in charge of one team. Ty another, and I am running the third…"
"Hold the fuck up." I said.
Connolly stopped talking. Ty looked away.
"Yes, Miss Swan?"
"Why do Garrett and Ty get to lead a team, but I don't? I'm a vampire." I unnecessarily pointed out.
"Do you have any experience leading special ops teams against a possible werewolf enemy, Miss Swan? If you do, I will be glad to step aside."
Oh.
"Do you have any experience?" I countered. I mean how many werewolves could he have really fought?
"I've led teams on fourteen different occasions against werewolf packs."
Oh.
"I guess you can lead then." I mumbled.
"What was that, Miss Swan? It's loud in here. I didn't quite catch that."
The asshole was smiling. I shot the finger at him while baring my teeth.
"Okay. We land. Spread out. Radio is very sensitive. Speak at very low volume. Let's talk about what we know about werewolves. Strong in human from. Vicious. Can turn at any time into a four legged killer, but strongest and deadliest during full moons, the only time they have to turn. The last few days have been gearing towards tonight. A full moon. We will be touching down around sunset. If we don't get any survivors out tonight, there won't be any survivors. They will most likely be in tree tops."
"What are the expected enemy numbers sir?" One of the dumbasses asked. Garrett answered.
"Unknown. A single werewolf could have caused this damage to an unsuspecting team. We only suspect werewolves because this area has a history of them. They live in the wild even as humans, and are extremely feral. Their only goal will be death. They kill what is in front of them. Humans or vampires. If the teams were taken down this quickly, I would assume that there is more than one. That means a pack. I would say, from experience, ten or so. Be prepared for anything." Garrett looked at me as he said this.
"Jump in five minutes. Let's get ready." Jason finished.
I walked towards my pack when Garrett held me back.
"You okay?"
"Yeah." I told him more confidently than I felt.
"You remember what we talked about? Don't let them bite you. Use your rifle and sidearm so you don't have to get closer than necessary. If you get in close combat, you are stronger, but not by much. Use your blade. Let the Seals take their shots. That's what they are there for. Connolly has these men trained to fight werewolves and similar creatures. Trust him, and do as he says. Okay?"
"Yeah. I got it, Garrett."
"Just…just come back to me in one piece. If they bite, they can tear you apart. It would hurt to get put back together. Let's make sure we don't have to okay?"
"I know. I'll come back to you." I promised. I hoped I could keep that promise.
He leaned down to kiss me on my cheek.
"Team X prepare for insertion!" Jason yelled. Ty giggled. Garrett and I looked at him.
"Come on, man. He could have said prepare to jump. He does that shit on purpose."
Garrett shook his head, then checked my pack one more time.
I walked to the door and looked out. This was a lot different than parasailing and jumping off mountains. I did those activities during the day. The sun had set, so it was dark. The moon lit up the sky, but still…
"C'mon Swan! You want to live forever? Oops. Never mind." Connolly laughed. He then jumped out of the plane. His three team members followed him without hesitation. Shit. I walked to the edge, but paused.
"Have a nice trip, Bella!" I heard Ty say at the same time his hand hit my back, sending me falling into the abyss.
I really loved him sometimes.
Falling at one hundred miles an hour through darkness while screaming was not one of those times.
"Bella?"
Jason? Oh yeah. Radio.
"Yes?"
"Stop screaming. We are trying to sneak in, remember?"
"Oh. Sorry. Can I scream until I hit the ground?"
I heard static in my helmet. Then his voice again.
"I would appreciate it if you didn't. This is an open mic, you know?"
Oh yeah.
"Sorry."
"No problem, ma'am. Pull your ripcord in five seconds. Oh…Garrett wanted me to remind you to pull it gently. Like tying your shoes."
Okay.
I pulled. It didn't break. The chute flew out…Oh shit!
Damn that jerked.
I hit the ground, but forgot to roll. Instead I just landed. Standing straight up, the chute fell over me. I moved out from under it as quietly as I could.
"Bella?" Connolly whispered over the radio.
"Yeah?"
"You make it down?"
"No. I'm stuck in the air." I whispered through the radio. I could do sarcasm too.
Silence.
"Liar. I see you."
I turned to see the others about fifty feet away. I was in front of him in a second. They took off their chutes. That reminded me. Yeah. Jason just gave me a look. A look that said the dumbass girl forgot to unhook her parachute.
I ripped the clips off and felt it float away.
"Stay next to me." He whispered. We were all dressed in solid black. I even had black face paint on. I'm not sure why.
"I'm the vampire. You stay next to me." I whispered back.
I turned and smelt it. Holy shit. That was a strong smell.
I turned back to Connolly.
"I think I smell werewolf."
"Get down!" Connolly had his gun drawn. I hit the ground and he fired his silenced weapon.
A werewolf body fell in front of me.
I looked up to see him smirking.
"I told you I smelt werewolf." I mumbled.
"I doubt that's the only one. Try using your eyes, not just your nose." He grinned.
So he got the first one. The rest were mine. Garrett was right. This guy was an asshole.
GPOV
My team hit the ground safely. Bella had stopped screaming half way down. I checked the surroundings. Mountains all around us. We were in a valley surrounded on all four sides. A natural kill box. If this pack of wolves lived in the nearby mountains, having the high ground, the idea of killing them all goes out the window. We needed to find if there were any survivors.
"Connolly, do you have any targets spotted?" I asked over the radio.
"Yeah, Bella sniffed one out that nearly decapitated her as soon as we hit the ground. Target is now neutralized."
Oh, dear God. I should have kept her with me.
"Is she okay?" I whispered.
"I'm fine." A low growl came over the airwaves. She sounded annoyed.
Okay then.
I took a whiff of the air. This was bad.
Wolves had to be everywhere to saturate the open air with this scent. The land stunk with them.
"Jack. Get the drone up. Infrared. We need to determine hostile numbers. Quickly."
"What do you have, Gar?" Ty asked.
"Do you smell it, Ty?"
"Yeah. I smell it here. Smells like they are everywhere. I ain't ever smelled wolf this strongly."
"Ty, we need to run in to find the crash site and battle sites. See if we can find any survivors. Then we are getting out of this area. This terrain is in their favor. No point risking any more than necessary on a full moon night. We can come back to clear the area during the day."
"Copy, G-Man."
I turned to the others to see they had frozen. I looked in the direction they were staring and saw them. All ten of them.
Snarling, approaching slowly. My scent must have them wary, but they would attack.
A chorus of howls filled the air all around.
We came for a fight. Looks like we are about to get one.
"Garrett?"
"Yeah, Jack?"
He motioned for me to silence my mic. I did so.
"How did it go this weekend?"
What?
"What are you talking about, Jack? Let's focus on the werewolves approaching us."
"I am. We got them in sight. We were just all wondering. Everything go good?"
"Yes, Jack. Everything went good."
"Did you kiss her?"
I smiled at the memory. Then my mind came back to the present.
"What difference does it make? Focus on the fight."
"It's just the guys all know you have been alone like…forever. Least since the United States has existed. It ain't right. We just are kinda hopin this works out for you."
"Thank you, Jack. Yes, we did kiss."
"Way to go, Garrett. She's hot, man. Even for a vampire. Especially considering how she looked when she first showed up. She cleans up real nice." Malcolm said from behind me.
"Thank you, Mal. Now mics on. Let's kill some wolves. The wolves took that moment to charge. We opened fire. Even me. No point in getting close if I don't have to. Four went down immediately. Six came through as we continued to fire.
"Cover me with fire. I'm going to get close." I said. In my mic I heard fire open up elsewhere. I could hear it coming from Bella and Ty's location. I charged one wolf, hitting him in the snout. Another tried to jump me from the side, but I tore his jaws apart. I felt one behind me, then turned to see him falling out of the air. One of the Seals shot him.
"On your six!"
I turned to see four more wolves had descended and were charging my Seals from behind. I picked up a wolf body, tossed it over their heads, knocking the two closest wolves down.
I heard a scream over the radio. I had to get my head straight. I had to concentrate and kill these wolves. Then I had to get to Bella. This was too much. First she fights a demon on her own, now I bring her to a werewolf convention.
I pulled my blade and turned, slitting the throat of one wolf behind me.
"Think we should retreat?" Bobby asked.
"Retreat hell. We just got here." I responded.
BPOV
"Jesus, that's a lot of fucking dogs." I whispered. We were surrounded. By at least ten of these fuckers.
"Is this normal? I whispered to Connolly. Our mics were off, but I could hear the battles of the other team. I had to kill these wolves so I get to Garrett. Ty too.
"No. A pack of ten is large. Judging by the action goin on around us, I would say we were in the middle of an infestation. We need to work our way to the middle. That's where the crash site is. Let's move."
Connolly opened fire at the wolves in front of us, while the guy named Derek fired behind us with his two friends. We slowly started moving forward. I started shooting my rifle. I had only practiced a few times, but my enhanced eyesight made me a hell of a shot. I shot two in the head. I had a long blade strapped to my back in case I ran out of ammunition. One got through.
He was heading for Jason. I jumped over him and tackled the wolf. We rolled and he was on top of me on the ground. What did Garrett say? Don't get close.
Oh damn, he was snarling, and wolf spit just landed on my face. I kicked him in the air, then a bullet struck him in the midsection. rolling him over.
Damn what a rush. I wiped the spit off my face with my sleeve as I ran to my team.
"Thanks." Connolly grinned.
I didn't respond. I was busy looking for the next target. I picked up my gun, and one was on me. I fired point blank, hit him in the skull. The silver bullet cracked his head, blood covered my face.
Great. Blood and spit. Damn this was nasty.
We continued to move. We had made it approximately one hundred yards. The wolves had gone for cover, but were still trailing us.
"They are herding us." Connolly said. "Make a break for it. Stay tight. Bella, stay behind to cover our backs."
They took off running, so I ran behind them. Movement caught the corner of my eye. A grey wolf shot out. I fell, twisting his neck by his ears as he went by. They can heal from what Garrett told me, so I took my blade, slamming it in the top of his skull. I heard growling, but realized quickly it was me.
This was amazing. What a fucking rush!
"Hold up!" Connolly yelled. I turned back to see they had six wolves in front of them. Gunfire sounded closer. I suppose we were all making our way towards the middle. I ran past my team, jumping over their heads as they lay down fire at the dogs. They attacked me. Two were struck with bullets before they could get to me. Using my blade , I started cutting at the other four. I saw teeth, fur, blood and silver flashing. More gunfire. I sliced the throat of one wolf, nearly decapitating him.
The gunfire ended. I looked around to see my team on one knee, facing every direction in a tight formation.
"Bella, get back here." Jason said. I ran back and stood in front of them. We began moving.
We made it about another two hundred yards with no resistance. I saw the chopper, but not the other teams.
"Garrett, Ty. Check in." Jason said quietly over the mic.
"My team is good. We have approximately eighteen kills." Garrett responded. Thank God he was okay. Why wouldn't he be, though? He knew what he was doing.
"I'm good. All team accounted for. I think we have moved past the major resistance. Moving to the site." Ty responded.
"Copy. We have reached the site. No sign of survivors. We are going to check and blow the Hawk. Check radius for survivors."
"Copy." Garrett and Ty both responded.
"Bella, you smell anybody?" Jason asked me.
"In this stink? No. I don't think so."
"Okay. Blow the Hawk, men. We are getting out of here."
I watched the men wire explosives to the chopper. Connolly was scanning the area, so I pulled my small gun from my waist to do the same. I heard a scream. I smelt blood. Human blood.
I looked to see a wolf had jumped out of the chopper, hitting the Seal named Toby. Fuck. The other Seal, Jonesy I think his name was, was struck with a paw in the head and went down. Jason and I fired at the same time. The wolf collapsed on Toby. I rushed to him, tossed the wolf away.
The smell hit me hard and I froze.
"Oh damn." Jason whispered. Toby was laying on the ground shaking. The wolf had gotten his leg. Red, red blood that I could see clearly even at night, was spurting out of an open wound on his thigh. I remembered high school biology. Femoral artery.
This was not good.
Garrett POV
My team met Ty's.
"Any survivors?" I asked.
"Yeah. One. I pulled him out of a tree. He was bunkered in. I guess the wolves gave up trying to get him. He's dehydrated. He's delirious. He most likely will think the big black vampire pulling him from a very tall tree was a delusion. We're good." Ty responded.
"Garrett?" Connolly's voice crackled over the radio.
"Go ahead."
"Circle the teams around our position, then contact the base for a helo evac. We need to get out of here. We have two men down. Bella and I can handle that. Keep the hordes who get brave off of us, and let me know the coordinates of the LZ."
Bella was okay. Two men down but not dead. Okay.
"Copy. We have one survivor."
Silence.
"One is more than I thought we would get. Keep your eyes open, Gar. We need to leave. Now."
I couldn't agree more.
BPOV
Oh God. Oh God. So much blood. Oh God.
"Bella? Bella!"
I turned my attention to Jason.
"I need to get this packaged and covered. Hold this clip."
I looked at his hand, which was practically inside the wound. He had a plastic tip attached to an artery in Toby's leg.
"I…I can't." Damn my throat burned when I spoke. My damn mouth was drooling.
"I'm sorry. I…"
"Bella, he has a wife and kids. Three kids. All under the age of eight. If I let go of this clip, he bleeds out before I can get a packing on in, let alone get his leg stabilized for transport. I want to go home. Toby needs to get home to his wife and kids. We need you, Bella."
"I'll break it. My touch…"
"Is fine. Running out of time, Bella."
Shit. I held my breath as I bent down, reaching towards his hand slowly.
"Stop shaking. You can tear the artery worse."
I froze my hand as best I could. My hand was soaked in blood. Damn I wanted to lick my fingers. I gently grabbed the clip before Jason took his hand off.
"Talk to him, Bella." Jason whispered.
"Hey Toby. How you doing?" I asked quietly trying not to breathe in.
"Oh, you know. Got my leg torn open by a werewolf. Other than that, pretty good. How was your weekend with Garrett?"
What?
"It…it was great."
"Yeah? What did you do?"
"We went parasailing. We went to a Jimmy Buffett concert, and he made me wear this ridiculous outfit. He took me to a play. It was a comedy. How…are you hurting?"
"Not really. I've had worse."
"Really?" Because this was a lot of damn blood. The clip, however, was slowing it down.
"Yeah. So how was your mother?"
"You know about my mother?"
"It's a small team. We talk. Great job killing the demon."
"Thanks, Toby."
"No problem. We were investigating a Yeti at an Antarctic research station once, and ran into one. Garrett took him out, but they are some tough bastards."
"Wow."
"So you and Garrett had a nice time?"
"Yeah. It was really great."
"So did you…"
"Did I what?" I asked.
"He wants to know if you kissed." Jason said beginning to wrap Toby's leg and pulling out a splint.
Damn his blood smelt so good. I was so hungry. I swear my stomach just growled.
"Yeah…Yeah we kissed."
"Damn it!" Connolly spit out.
"What?"
"We had a pool going in the team. Half of us didn't think Garrett had the guts to make a move."
That pissed me off a little. But I couldn't be angry. If I let go of this clip the blood was going to get ten times worse. Plus Toby would die. He had a wife and kids. Please Bella. Don't kill him.
"Bella, you are drooling. I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't eat me." Toby sort of chuckled.
"As if." I laughed, sounding more confident than I felt.
"So how is your mother? You never said."
"Much better. She seems okay. She's different. Changed. I'm almost afraid to see my dad. I don't know. I nearly killed my mom, and my dad never took good care of himself before, so I'm worried…"
"Okay. Stabilized. Bella, I am going to clip the other side of his artery, then put a better clip on the one you are holding. We are going to put him gently on a board. I will carry Jonesy out. You carry the board, get him to the LZ. Okay?"
I nodded. A minute later, Toby was secure.
I heard Garrett give out coordinates. I didn't know where they were so I kept up with Jason, who was carrying Jonesy out. He believed he was just knocked out.
We emerged out of the woods into a clearing. Garrett and Ty, along with the rest of the Seals, were there.
A chopper was landing.
Garrett and Ty looked at me, then the bloody man on a board, who I was carrying in front of me like an offering.
Seals grabbed Toby from me, rushing him to the chopper.
A howl rose from behind us. We turned, then out of the tree line, I saw a monster emerge. He was at least eight feet tall. He was hunched over, but standing on two legs. His body was massive, his head shaped like a wolf. A very large wolf.
"Connolly, get your Seals out of here. Get Toby treatment, then send the chopper back here." Garrett told him.
"What about you three?"
"We are going to finish this."
GPOV
"Garrett, what the fuck is that?" Ty asked.
The chopper lifted. I don't imagine the pilot had a chance to see this monster.
"That is the pack master."
"And we are about to light his ass up." Jason said from behind me.
"Didn't I tell you to go back?"
"Yeah. Show me the chain of command where I answer to you, and I will accept my official reprimand for disobeying a direct order."
He slammed a fresh clip in his rifle. I looked at Bella. She was covered in human blood but her only focus at the moment was on the monster in front of us.
"Okay. Let's introduce ourselves. Ty?"
Ty stepped forward and the pack master stumbled. He fell to his knees, then rose.
"Huh. Tough motherfucker. We gonna have to go old school on his ass." Ty said.
"He's old. If he can stand up while being hit with your power, Ty, he is one tough son of a bitch. Bella, stay…"
Before I could say back, she charged.
"Time to deliver a beat down." Ty charged.
I ran after them. I was almost there when Bella was tossed back towards me. I caught her in the air, then landed her behind me. Ty took a hit, hit the ground, then came back up striking the beast in his bottom jaw. Connolly opened fire. The beast took three to the chest, smoke rising from the holes. He howled, but began stalking towards us. I stepped up and he swiped at me. I dodged, kicking him in the stomach. He bent over a bit more. I hit him with an uppercut. Bella jumped on his back, planting a silver blade in the top of his skull. She couldn't get it all the way through. This fucker must be thousands of years old.
He swung at me again, and I drew my blade. His paws struck it, slicing three of his fingers off. Ty hit him in the eye. Bella grabbed another eye from her perch on his back. I grabbed his jaws. He turned his head, making Bella flew off, and taking his eyeball with her. Ty began concentrating again. Perhaps without one eye, and he other one bruised, his power may work better. I grabbed his throat and pulled. I couldn't rip his throat out, but I could crush his larynx.
He kicked me off, falling to his knees, clawing at his missing eye with one hand and his stomach with his other. I suppose Ty's power was wearing him down. Connolly ran up, placed his rifle into the eye socket hole, and opened fire. The bullets finally worked their way out of his skull. I jumped back on him, hitting his chest. I continued to hit his chest. His breast plate finally broke. Using my fingers I struck into the now-soft tissue to grab his beating heart.
I squeezed as I ripped it out.
We all stepped back to look at his mutilated corpse.
Connolly took a deep breath.
"That was easier than last time. Having help makes a difference." He noted. I had to agree.
I turned to check on Bella. She was breathing hard. She dropped the eyeball in her hand as I grabbed her, tracing her body while sniffing for injuries.
"I'm fine, Garrett." She sort of laughed.
"If you want to feel me up for injuries, you can, Garrett. I'm good, by the way." Ty offered. Connolly laid down on the ground, laughing.
"God, what a fucking life! How do people live without this?"
Ty and Bella looked at me, so I nodded in response to their unasked question. He was slightly insane.
"Jason, there is something I don't understand." Bella said.
"What's that, Bell?"
"If Toby has three young children, why is he on this team? Shouldn't he be doing something safer?"
"Toby? Toby doesn't have children. He has a different woman every time I see him." I said.
Bella glared at Jason.
"You lied to me?"
"Seemed like a good idea." He shrugged.
"So anybody got any idea how long it's gonna be before that chopper comes back?" Ty asked.
I shook my head. Ty, apparently, had an idea for passing the time.
"Well since we got time, why don't we all have a seat, then you two can tell us about your weekend. Especially the kissin part. What about it, Bella? Can Garrett kiss good, or is he all sloppy, tongue everywhere drooling like a teenager getting to second base?"
"Yeah, Bella. Give us the details?" Connolly agreed.
Where the fuck was that chopper?
Chapter 11: Chapter 11
Don't own it.
TY POV
"You can't come in." Connolly told the dogs for the fifth time.
"She is a vampire. One who has killed humans. We have to protect Charlie. I understand that she is doing well, but we are doing this for both their protection." The guy named Sam Uley said. The rest of these fuckers was eyeballing me. Fuck em. I'll slay their furry asses. Bitches better ask somebody who the fuck I am, before shit gets real.
Connolly chambered a round in his rifle. His other Seals did as well.
"She is having a nice conversation with her father. If you people go in there her instincts are going to make her edgy. You need to stay away. She can talk to you later, Jake. All of you if she wants. But for right now, you are going to stay away from her." Jason said.
"And if something happens to Charlie?" Uley asked.
'Nothin is gonna happen. Gar is in there with her. Why don't you boys take your asses back to the reservation, before Connolly and his guys fill you bitches full of lead?"
"Who the hell are you?" Jake asked.
"Tyrone Gavin, fool. I take care of her now. So back the fuck off. Why the hell are you even here? I don't remember sendin you an invitation. Charlie didn't ask for you. Get your asses gone."
"You best watch how you talk to us, Leech." One of the band said.
"You best watch your step, Wolf. We killed a shit load of dogs lately. A few more won't make a difference." Jonesy told him, painting the dude's forehead with his laser scope.
"Let's go." Sam said. "If something happens to Charlie it's on you." He pointed at me. He, apparently, didn't want to blame the eleven Seals that currently had firearms pointed at his boy band. And the girl of course. Damn she was fine. Even if she did stink, that was one fine piece of ass. I winked at her. She sneered. Guess there wasn't gonna be a West Side story for us. Damn shame. Girl don't know what she is missin.
They all turned and left, except for Jake.
"How is she doing?" he asked me.
"Damn good. Girl is something else. She saved one of our guys. Held his severed artery together with her finger while Jason bandaged him up."
"She held him while he was bleeding?"
"Yep." That act had pretty much solidified Bella as being part of the team in their eyes. She saved one of ours. She got placed in the worst possible position a young vampire could be placed in, and she did her job.
"Yeah, she will be fine with her Dad. If you want to talk to her, we will call you when she is done… but you know as well as I do, that your scent will set her on edge. We don't want accidents happening. So leave her in peace." Jason finished.
Jake nodded, then walked towards the woods at the back of Charlie's house. Bella was inside with Garrett and Charlie. I hoped she didn't hear all this, but I am sure she did.
I knew she would want to talk to him. She loved him. He still loved her. He had the look of a guy who could get used to her smell. Nothing would ever change that.
Hope Garrett could handle that.
BPOV
"You look great, Baby." Dad said with misty eyes.
"Thanks, Dad. So do you." I lied. He was thinner. His hair had grey streaks in it. There were wrinkles under his eyes.
"No I don't, but thanks for lying to your old man." He grinned.
"Can I hug you?" He asked.
I nodded my head, unable to speak. He wrapped me in his arms as he tried to pull me in. I helped him a bit.
"Wow, Bells. You are solid."
"Yeah."
"Solid is good. You will need to be tough to deal with this craziness. Ty tells me you’ve been doing good? Trip to your Mom's went okay?"
Ty? Of course he did.
"Yeah. Went good."
"Good. She has had a rougher time than even I did."
"Dad, I'm sorry I didn't…"
"I never would have believed you, Bella. I'm sorry for that. So what have you been up to?"
"I killed a lot of werewolves."
Dad immediately looked outside.
"Not Jake and his friends, Dad."
"Oh. That's good. I guess…so where were these wolves?"
I saw Garrett had slipped out. I was good. It would take a lot of blood to make me lose it. Especially after the last few weeks.
"Bosnia."
"You were in Bosnia? What the hell were you doing there?" Dad sat down, so I sat next to him.
"Well it started when a helicopter crashed…"
A few hours later, I had caught Dad up to date on my activities since meeting Garrett. He paled a little when I told him about my battle with the demon.
"I'm proud of you, Bella." He patted my leg.
"Thanks, Dad."
"So what next?"
"I don't know. We are going to go back to Washington, wait for whatever happens next."
"Are you…are you going to talk to Jake?"
I took a breath.
"Yeah. I want to."
"Good. I know he really wants to see you."
"Yeah. I will talk to him before I leave. I promise."
"What about them?" Charlie said them like a curse word. I didn't have to ask who them was.
"I talked to them. All of them. Briefly. I said goodbye."
"More than they deserved."
I shrugged my shoulders.
"Maybe, but if I am going to stop blaming myself for the past, I am going to stop blaming everyone else. The woman who did this is dead. Edward killed her."
"He did?" Charlie asked surprised.
"Yeah."
"So what was he like when you saw him?" Dad asked.
"He was…nice. You know Edward. Always proper."
"Yeah. He was a jackass." Charlie seemed to agree.
"I didn't say he was a jackass, Dad." I laughed a little.
"No? I thought you did. You are right, though. He was a jackass."
That made the both of us laugh. Dad always did make me feel safe. Like everything would be okay.
"So... Garrett, huh?"
"Dad, we are just getting to know each other." I rolled my eyes. He was as bad as the Seals.
"He looks like the kind of guy that would take care of you the way you deserve to be taken care of."
"Yeah. He is." I agreed.
"Good. So you two are…close?"
I laughed to hide my discomfort.
"We gonna talk about boys, Dad?"
"Nah, I guess not." He laughed.
Wait a minute, Bella.
"You know, I'm sorry. I shouldn't hide anything. I want you to know. I thought, at first, that maybe I was just really grateful for what Garrett had done for me. But... I care for him. I really, really care for him. He…he makes me…better. I feel like a better person when I am with him." I told Dad honestly.
He kissed my cold cheek, but didn't flinch. "Thanks for sharing that, Bells."
"I realize neither of us open up much Dad, but I am going to work to change that. I want you to know about my life. Just remember a lot of it is top secret, so you can't tell anyone." I smiled at him, letting him know I was half kidding.
"Bella, who in the world would believe me?"
"Good point, Dad." We both heard a wolf howl in the distance.
"You should go talk to him." Dad said. I nodded my head and stood up.
"You will come back tonight? You and Garrett. Ty? There is a game on. I don't really watch them anymore, but I was thinking we could all hang out?"
My eyes were wet. I wish I could cry.
"Yeah, Dad. That would be great." I leaned over, kissing him on his cheek.
"I love you, Bella."
"I love you too, Daddy."
I stood to walk outside, trying to remember to move like a human. I had gotten better at it. It was becoming more natural.
Garrett and Ty were outside, while the rest of the guys were in the backyard. I heard Charlie walk out and introduce himself. They had all insisted on coming. Ty hinted that they didn't exactly trust the wolves. At least not to antagonize me. I knew they wouldn't, but I did feel better having my guys with me. They were my family now. All of them. They were mine.
"Where is he?" I asked Garrett. Garrett turned to look at the woods.
"You want one of us to come with?" He asked.
I shook my head. We would be okay. Underneath all the supernatural bullshit, we were still just Jake and Bells.
At least I hoped so.
I took off into the woods, catching his scent immediately. He was two hundred yards away. If I needed breath, I would have lost it.
I forgot how damn beautiful he was.
He was leaning against a tree in only a pair of cut off shorts. He had that little grin. Those gorgeous eyes. That incredible body.
And he stunk.
I imagine I stunk pretty bad to him as well.
"Hey, Jake."
"Hey, Bells. You know when I dreamed of seeing you again, I never imagined you would bring two vampires who weren't Cullen's and a military escort with you."
"Yeah. Sorry about that. They are kind of protective."
"It's cool. I'm glad. You can stay, you know. Here. With Charlie."
"I don't think your friends would appreciate that, Jake."
"Fuck them. You belong here. This is your home." Jake stepped towards me.
"Not anymore, Jake. I don't belong here. You know it."
"I know I still love you. I know I will never stop. I don't care about your scent. I love you. It doesn't matter that you are a vampire."
Like with Charlie, I wanted to cry.
"Jake…I'm sorry…"
He sighed.
"I had to try." Jake looked so sad. I felt my heart breaking. I never wanted to see Jake sad.
"I'm sorry about your dad, Jake. What happened?"
"He was ill. Diabetes. He…it was just his time, I guess…"
"I'm so sorry, Jake."
"It's okay. The past year was tough. First losing you, and then Dad. But I got through. Knowing you are out there, somewhere, makes it better."
"I'll always be out there for you, Jake. You will always be my sunshine."
"I don't want to lose you, Bella."
"You won't."
"So you seem close to this Garrett guy."
"What makes you say that?" I became instantly defensive. I don't know why. Jake would never hurt Garrett.
"Just the way you are around him. How comfortable you seem around him. The way you two seem to revolve around each other. How you always look to make sure he is near. I don't even think you realize you are doing it. You look at him like you once looked at me."
Oh.
"Yeah. Garrett has been great. He really saved my life. I mean, he could have killed me. I wanted him too, but he refused. I don't know why…"
"He knew you were too special to let go." Jake stepped a little closer. His scent was setting me on edge. Every cell in my body wanted to get into a defensive stance, to defend myself. Every cell in my heart wanted him to hold me.
He opened his arms.
"Can I get a hug?"
I nodded my head because I couldn't talk. My best friend, my only lover. My warmth and happiness.
I rushed into his arms, ignoring my physical instincts. He wrapped his very hot arms around me and pulled me in. I closed my eyes, just letting him hold me.
I felt moisture on my head, then realized Jake was crying. I looked up, and he had tears streaking his beautiful face.
"Jake, please don't cry. It's not right. You should never cry."
He chuckled a little.
"You are just going to have to deal with it this time, Bells."
I don't know how long we stood there holding each other. I was brought out of my peaceful place in Jake's arms by a sound and a scent.
Wolves were around.
Jake growled.
"Leave us alone." He told the invisible pack. Invisible but present. I heard a low growl. I backed up, this time did become defensive. Jake sensed it, stepping closer to me.
"It's okay, Bella."
I heard his voice, but my entire focus was on the phased wolf who had invaded our moment. I had enough sense to remember where I was though, and how many wolves there actually were. I pressed the button on the side of the black watch Garrett had given me. The one that was perfectly in sync with the same one the rest of the team wore. The one that had a GPS tracker in it, so any of us could be found quickly. The one that let him know I needed him.
A silver wolf stepped out of the tree line. Paul.
Two others were behind him. Jake stepped in front of me. I stepped around to stand by his side.
We were having a nice moment. They ruined that. I was not happy.
"Jake, it's time you came home." Sam said stepping out from behind a tree.
"I'll come home when I damn well feel like it. You aren't my father." Jake said.
"I am not your father but I am your alpha. Despite how we feel about Bella, it is time to let her go. She is one of them now."
That kind of pissed me off.
"You are alpha because I let you be alpha. Don't forget it, Sam."
"Jake. It's time to say goodbye."
"I'll never say goodbye to her, Sam. You really want to start a fight? If you do, I promise you I will take over as alpha, and I will take you down." Jake told him.
Sam was about to say something. I think. I'm not sure, because the next second, Sam Uley was on the ground. Grabbing his stomach.
He just vomited. His eyes were rolling up in his head. He was rolling around.
Ty.
The wolves growled. Six came out of the woods. I recognized most of them. Leah, Embry, Jared, Quil, Seth and one I didn't recognize stepped in front of Sam. They turned towards me. Jake phased, standing between me and the Pack. Garrett landed in between Jake and the Pack. Then Ty stood next to Garrett.
Ty and Garrett were both tense. Paul stepped forward, then jumped back when a bullet struck the ground in front of him.
Things were about to get out of hand.
Leah Clearwater jumped towards Ty. I ran towards Ty, the two of us hit her at the same time. Seth made a move for his sister, but Garrett backhanded him into a tree. Paul charged at the same time Sam rolled over and phased. I hit Sam, then looked up to see Paul about to land on me.
At least until Jake tackled him in midair.
Sam tried to get up, I pushed his snout back into the earth.
"Everybody stop!"
GPOV
Bella yelled to stop right as I was about to break the neck of one of these dogs. I wanted them to give her space. I tried to be nice. I tried to be reasonable. But they decided they had to become involved. I told them to stay away.
The time for being nice as over. I was ready to annihilate these fuckers. Connolly and his boys caught up. They had formed a circle around the clearing we were battling in. Caught in a crossfire, if I gave the signal, the wolves were fucked.
Jake was defending Bella.
Against his own pack.
Damn.
The fighting stopped for the moment. The wolves may have taken that moment to notice the laser dots painting them. We all heard the rounds being chambered.
I walked up to Uley. Grabbed him by his throat.
"You want to explain to me why you felt the need to attack Bella, or shall I go ahead and rip your throat out?"
"Garrett, put him down." Bella told me.
I threw him to the ground. She didn't say how I had to let him go.
"Jake. You need to say goodbye to her." Sam gasped through his nearly crushed throat. A damn shame he would heal.
"You need to mind your own business, Sam." Jacob growled out. I turned to see he was naked. Oh great. Bella noticed too.
"You motherfuckers better turn human in the next few seconds, or I'm declaring hunting season on big ass wolves in Washington State." Connolly said walking up. Within seconds, the wolves were human. Naked humans.
"Why didn't you leave us alone, Sam?" Bella asked. She didn't sound angry. She sounded genuinely curious.
"Jake has a responsibility to the tribe as the next chief. He has not taken the reigns as either chief or alpha because he is holding on to you, Bella. We all loved you, but you died. Jake needs to move on, not hold on to you for an hour. You are our enemy now. Jake needs to understand that."
I was ready to rip his throat out. Ty stepped up beside me. I suppose he felt the same.
It was Bella who pushed us both aside, then grabbed Uley by the neck and threw him backwards.
"You son of a bitch! I am not fucking dead! If he wants to hold me for days that is between us. Don't you ever interfere again, or I swear to God, I will wipe La Push off the face of the damn Earth!"
Bella was growling. She was snarling. The silver wolf tried to phase, but Ty hit him with his power. Now he was a naked man rolling on the ground, and…yep, he just vomited. Another wolf began to shimmer. A gunshot rang out, the young man's leg was struck. He fell to the ground screaming, clutching his now bleeding leg.
Jake stepped up next to Bella.
"You want me to step up, Uley? Fine. I will step up. I will be your damn alpha. I'm going to start now."
"With the scent of leech on you? You are a traitor. You have always put everything, your tribe, your pack, everything second to this woman."
I watched Jake phase, then Sam did as well. They attacked each other.
Bella moved to attack Uley, but I grabbed her.
"Let them work this out themselves." I whispered. She was snarling. Ready to fight. Her body was tense.
He held her for an hour?
She let a wolf hold her for an hour?
Not cool. I wanted to get her out of here. I wanted to…
I was jealous.
I watched the russet wolf battle the black wolf. They went after each other, neither holding back. I have a feeling Uley's anger had more to do with guilt he may have felt over Bella. Still though, he tried to hurt her. That could not be forgiven. Not by me.
Bella's eyes never left Jake. He finally gained an upper hand, and had Uley pinned to the ground by his neck. Jakes jaws were closing in. He stopped at the last moment from breaking the black wolf's neck. Something passed between them. I swear I could almost see Jake become larger.
The russet wolf stepped off the black wolf, then turned to his pack. His human pack all went to one knee in front of him. Uley phased human, then rose to his feet. As Jake turned to him, he also went to one knee.
A shimmer, and Jacob was back.
"Any of you ever say a word against Bella, or anyone she is with, and you will have to fight me. I will not go easy. That is my word. It is final. Now leave. Go back to La Push. You are never to come around Bella and I, while we are together, unless I order it. Go. Now."
The wolves began to walk back into the woods. Two helped the one with a bullet wound in his leg. The female turned to sneer at Bella.
Bella shot the finger at her. Jake walked up. He apparently wasn't bothered by being nude in front of Bella. I knew why. That wasn't puppy love that made him fight against his own pack.
They had truly loved each other. She had seen him nude before. She wasn't even embarrassed. Strange for Bella, who seemed to be embarrassed so easily. They had been lovers.
"I'm sorry, Bella." Jake said.
"I am too, Jake."
"You have nothing to be sorry for." He looked at me.
"I guess you will be taking her now?"
His words sounded as if he was asking if we were leaving. I caught the subtle subtext though.
"Yes. I will be taking her now."
He nodded. His eyes looked so sad. It would have broken my heart, if he wasn't in love with the same woman I was in love with.
"Jake? Charlie asked us to come over to watch a game with him. Would you want to…maybe come?"
Jake smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"Yeah, Bella. I would like that a lot."
"See you in a couple hours? You should probably put some clothes on." Bella laughed. I agreed. Ty snickered.
A couple hours later, we were sitting in Charlie's living room. Jake and Bella were laughing about some event that happened when she lived here. Something about motorcycles and not knowing how to turn one.
Occasionally, I would get up to check the window. Connolly's men went back to the hotel. He was here, but without his men around, I wanted to keep an eye out around the perimeter. Force of habit, I suppose. When I rose, Bella looked at me each time. Her eyes followed me to the window. When she was satisfied -I suppose- that I wasn't leaving, she would return to the conversation with Jake or Charlie.
Despite the strange circumstances, Charlie looked like a new man. Jake had even begun to develop a real smile. A smile that died every time Bella glanced at me and smiled.
I loved her. Despite that events of today and her obvious bond with Jacob, I knew she loved me too. That was enough. She needed this connection. I could have lived without the connection to Jacob, but it would be alright. Jealousy was something I would have to get used to. I never felt it before. I suppose I was overdue.
We stayed the night. Jacob left around eleven. Charlie fell asleep in his recliner, so Bella laid a blanket over him and watched him sleep. It was a nice moment. Around 4 AM, her phone buzzed. She looked at it. I don't know why. Besides the people in this room -and Renee, who was not up at this hour- only one person had her number.
"What do you think?" she asked me.
"That's your decision."
"I told him we could be friends. I have ignored all his other calls. I suppose I should talk to him."
"Do you want us to leave?"
"Fuck no. I want to hear this shit. Say hi to his big ass brother. Ask that fucker how his stomach is feelin." Ty said voicing his opinion.
"Ty…" I started.
"No. Watch Charlie for me. This won't take long. I will see what he wants, tell him I am busy. I'll be just outside."
"Stay near, Bella." Jason said suddenly. We all looked at him.
"Sorry. I get that you are close to Jake, but I don't trust his friends."
I felt the same way.
"Okay," Bella agreed, then walked out to the front porch. A large part of me was glad that she didn't feel the need to have privacy.
Yes, this jealousy thing was going to take some getting used to.
Edward POV
"Are you sure this will work?"
"Edward, Bella wants to be a nomad. You want to be in her life. No one knows better how a nomad thinks than Peter." Jasper told me again.
"Relax, Eddie. Do what I say, and you will win your girl's heart in no time."
Peter. Jasper told me I had to listen to him. Bella had changed. I needed to change. I had a lot to learn. A lot of time to think over the mistakes I made. I wanted to do this right.
"So play it casual?"
"Yep. Don't act like you are desperate. Although, considering she has ignored every call you have placed so far, it may be too late for that." Peter reminded me.
"So act like I am glad to hear from her but it really didn't matter if she answered or not?"
"Yep." Peter was grinning. I wasn't sure about this. His thoughts told me he was sincere, though. He had been in a relationship as long as Jasper and Alice. Longer even.
"Okay." I dialed the number.
"Edward, remember. Whatever your instincts tell you to do, do the opposite. Don't be yourself. Ever." Peter said.
I rolled my eyes, but took his advice to heart.
I listened to the ring. She had not answered since she gave me this number. Fifteenth time is the charm.
"Hello, Edward." Her voice still set my heart racing. Metaphorically speaking.
"Hey, Bells. How are you doin? I was bored. Just thought I would see what you were up to. Done anything interesting lately?"
I looked at Peter and Jasper. They were both nodding. I guess that was good.
"Uh…no. Not really. Just running across the country. Being a nomad. How about you, Edward? Anything interesting?"
I looked at Peter. I wanted to tell her I had been thinking of her every second of every day. He told me to follow my instincts. No! He said to do the opposite of what my instincts told me to do.
"Not really. I'm beginning to get restless. I'm thinking I might follow your lead, do some traveling. Are you enjoying it? Is it what you thought it would be?"
"Yeah. It is. It's amazing. I am having so much fun with Garrett and Ty."
Ty. The large black vampire that took Emmett down so easily.
"Glad to hear it. I was wondering if you wanted to…" Peter cleared his throat. Right. Don't ask her out.
"I mean I was wondering if you were going to be around this area anytime soon. If you are, give me a call. Maybe we could catch a concert or something." I looked at Peter. He nodded his head, motioning with his hand that I should continue in this vein.
"Uh, maybe. I actually just went to a concert. Garrett took me."
"Really? Who did you see?"
"Jimmy Buffett."
I looked at Peter and Jasper in a panic,shrugging my shoulders. Who the hell?
"Soft rock singer. Big in the seventies and early eighties. Sings tropical songs. Margaritaville…" Peter whispered.
Oh. Yeah. He's still alive?
"Wow. I love Jimmy Buffett."
"You do?" she sounded like she didn't believe me. I didn't believe me either.
"Not really." I laughed.
Peter and Jasper froze.
Bella laughed. We all relaxed.
"I didn't figure he was your style. You wouldn't believe the outfit Garrett got me to wear."
"Oh really?"
"Yes. It involved a coconut bra. That's all I'm saying."
I looked at Peter. He seemed deep in thought. Probably about a coconut bra. I snapped my fingers.
He seemed to come out of his thoughts.
"She is falling in love with him. Change the subject." Peter said quickly. She is?
"So have you watched any good television shows lately?" That should be safe.
"Garrett has got me hooked on the Three Stooges. Of course, we don't have much time to watch, being nomads and all."
"Of course. It sounds like you are having a lot of fun with Garrett."
I looked at Peter and Jasper, who now had grim faces. This could not be good.
"I am. Ty too. Garrett is so easy to be with. So relaxed and funny. I haven't known him long, but I couldn't imagine life without him. Oh my God... I have to tell you what he did to Ty last week. It was so funny."
"Sounds..great Bella. I'm all ears."
This would not be easy. I hope Peter had a plan. I had a feeling that if I didn't step up my game, soon it would be too late.
Chapter 12: Chapter 12
Don't own it.
Edward POV
"She hasn't answered her phone in two weeks." I said, admittedly dejected.
"So you are going to give up?" Peter asked.
"You told me to not seem desperate. Calling every day and being ignored would seem desperate, wouldn't it?"
"Look, you are losing a battle here. She is in love with a guy she spends every moment with, traveling around, going to romantic locations, living on the edge. If you want a shot, you’d better realize your situation is desperate." Peter said in his usual blunt manner.
"So I should give up?"
"Nope. Didn't say that. Just said that you may have to act a little desperate. I mean, when she did talk to you, the two of you had a nice conversation right?"
"Yes." I told him remembering every word she said. "She talked for an hour about Garrett."
"That's not true, Edward." Alice added in.
"Yeah. She talked about that tall idiot that runs around with them for at least 15 of those minutes." Emmett grumbled. He was still not over getting taken down so easily. He should have listened to Bella's wishes.
"She asked how you were doing." Alice pointed out.
"Yeah. And you basically had nothing to say. Let's face it. You guys lead a boring life." Peter pointed out.
I was about to respond when I realized he was right.
"We don't have a boring life." Emmett countered. Peter disagreed.
"Bullshit. I don't see how Jasper can stand it. Every damn day, you all do the same thing. Carlisle goes to work. Alice reads fashion magazines. She goes shopping in the afternoon, every fucking day. Who the hell needs that many clothes? Jasper reads history books. Edward, you play that damn song on the piano every day. Emmett, you watch sports, while Esme cuts flowers and redecorates the damn house every day. Rose works on y’alls cars every day, giving them tune ups even though they are brand new fucking cars! Seriously? Meanwhile, your love is out there with a couple fucking nomads, going to concerts, running the country, seeing the sites, and probably getting her brains fucked out multiple times a day. Wake the fuck up, son! I came here to help you, but I didn't realize how bad the situation was. You have nothing to offer her. Considering how you abandoned her and she got turned against her will, it's a damn miracle she even talked to you once! Now, you want to talk about desperate, boy? You are looking at fourth down on your own ten yard line, with three seconds on the clock."
That brought silence to everyone in the house.
I finally looked at Emmett. I suppose he read the question in my face.
"Fourth down on your own ten yard line with three seconds on the clock is bad, Edward."
"Thank you, Emmett."
"Call her. Make up something. Lie. Tell her you did something cool. You killed the vampire that turned her. Maybe you can play that up." Peter suggested.
"Probably not the best idea, Peter. Bella really didn't want to talk about that when she saw us." Alice whispered.
"Can you blame her?" Rose asked.
"Call her, Edward. Maybe you can at least be friends." Jasper suggested.
"Screw that. Tell her you have a girlfriend. Tell her you killed another vampire that talked back to you. Try anything, if you really want her. ‘Cuz son, I got a feeling that train has done left the station."
I looked at my family, then at Peter. I suppose I should listen to Peter.
"Fine. I will try again. What do I really have to lose at this point?"
"Ask her on a date, Edward." Esme put in.
"A date? I am supposed to play it cool…"
"I don't care. Try honesty. If she wants you, she will want you for you. Not someone you aren't."
A chorus of disagreements arose from my family. The bad thing about reading every thought around you was…well, everything. But the worst thing is knowing what others think of you all the time, no matter how much they try to hide their thoughts.
I knew my family loved me, but they knew what I was. I knew through them what I was. Boring. Old fashioned. Depressed and sullen.
"Your right, Esme. I will just be honest. I will ask her on a date. Meet her wherever she is in the country."
I dialed the number and turned around. Everyone was staring at me.
"Can I have privacy?"
A chorus of no's arose. I suppose my humiliation shall be witnessed. Maybe not. Maybe she will say yes. She loved me once.
The phone was ringing. She picked up!
"Yo."
"Uh…is Bella available to speak? Could you tell her Edward is on the phone?"
"Nah, man. Shorty busy."
"Who is this?"
"It's him." Emmett growled.
Ty POV
I was gonna be good… but I was bored. I was watchin some hottie vamp on satellite takin a bath in a River in the Amazon. Then she got dressed and disappeared under the rain forest canopy.
Bella and Garrett were training. Bella was training. Garrett was pretty much kicking her ass. I heard her scream in frustration a few times. She left her phone on the control console. She had called Renee, then Charlie before she went in.
Her phone buzzed. I thought it might be that Jake guy or her folks. Instead, it was him. Hehe.
I really shouldn't. I knew she had been ignoring his calls since Forks a few weeks ago. She came in from that conversation to see Garrett's face. Even though she spent the whole time talking about Gar, he still seemed upset. He thought he could hide it, but he wasn't very good at it. Seeing her ex wolf boyfriend had done thrown him off his game a bit. Cullen callin didn't help.
Bella knew. She saw it in his face. Ever since then, she has been attached to his hip. She has ignored every one of dumbass's calls, yet that fucker called every day.
Bella and Garrett loved each other. It hit them hard and fast. I don't know how far it had gone, but I saw her leavin his room the other night. She told me they were watching TV. I told her I liked TV. How come Ty couldn't watch TV? She did that thing when she gets embarrassed, bitin her lip and looking at the ground. I didn't smell sex in the air, so I guess it hadn't gone that far. But still, they belonged together. Bella was too nice to say anything. But that boy needed to be put out of his misery.
Guess it was up to me to shoot the lame horse in the head.
"Yo."
"Uh…is Bella available to speak? Could you tell her Edward is on the phone?"
"Nah, man. Shorty busy."
"Who is this?"
I heard big dumbass say it's him. Damn right it's me.
"This Ty. What you want, man?"
"I want to speak to Bella? Could you at least tell her I am on the phone?"
"Nah, man. She with Garrett. I don't disturb their alone time. Right now I hear a bunch of screaming and shit. They can get carried away in their alone time."
I said nothing that wasn't true. Bella couldn't get mad about that.
"I see." I barely heard him. Pretty boy sounded so sad.
"This is Edward right? The gink with all the geetus?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You the guy with all the dough, right?"
"Oh…yes. I suppose I am. I mean my family…"
"You gotta know by now you ain't got a chance, right?"
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me." I told him, ready to put a bullet in this poor horses head.
'I don't know any such thing." Ahh. He was getting mad. Wish he was close enough to read my mind now.
"Really? You hittin the pipe? That girl's G-Man's moll. You gotta be one fucked in the head pretty boy. She is with Garrett. Savvy Kemosabe?"
"I…I'm sorry. I really have no idea what you are saying."
"Look, her and Garrett are in love, fella. Let a playa play, and be on your way. You done fucked up that girl's life enough. Why you gotta come back for more? She some sort of punchin bag for you? You didn't screw up her life enough when she was human, so you gotta do it some more now?"
"I understand. I just want to talk. To be a friend."
"A friend? A friend don't call every damn day for the past few weeks, even when the call ain't answered. Hey is that blonde sista of yours there?"
"Ye…yes."
"What she got on?"
"She's wearing a red dress. Why?"
"Is it high? Low cut? She flashin some assets? Give me the skinny, man. What is her fine ass lookin like today?"
"Fuck you, you son of a bitch." Big guy yelled in the background. I started laughing.
"Chill you big, fucker. I was just wonderin. No need to get butt hurt over it."
"Shut up, Emmett. Listen…Ty? Are you saying that Bella and Garrett are in a definite relationship?"
"I'm sayin." Fucker may be getting a clue finally.
"How serious are they?" Maybe not.
"Listen. Bella told me all about you. Even if she wasn't with Garrett what the hell makes you think you would deserve her? What have you ever done that you would deserve someone like her? Seriously? I really want to know. All the men out there, even vampire men. You think you are the one she should be with? C'mon, Eddie. We both know she can do better than you, regardless of Garrett. To answer your question, though, yeah. They are pretty damn serious. Probably gonna be havin some vampire babies pretty soon. So chill, okay? If you really love her, let her be. She can do better, can't she?"
He didn't say anything. Maybe he thought it was a hypothetical question.
"Eddie? Answer me." I told him.
"You are right. I won't bother her again."
'There's a good boy. I knew you had a brain. Take care of yourself."
I ended the call before he could say something stupid. Huh. You know, just for giggles, let's see what is goin on at Casa de Cullen.
I flipped the satellite to the one tracking their location. Zoom in. Yep. There he goes. Runnin out the house. I wonder if he is cryin? I bet he is. Damn, that mother fucker can run fast. Real gangsta's don't run from shit, cause real gangstas can't run fast. Except me. I'm one fast G.
That reminds me. It's nearly time for Bella's rapping lesson. I don't hear anymore fighting. Nope. She just moaned. Shit Garrett needs to take it easy. He says she has to be prepared, but the girl is tryin. He ain't gotta treat her like a tacklin dummy.
Uh oh. Eddie is throwin trees. The forest service ain't gonna be happy about that shit. Now he was on the ground with his face buried in his hands. Ahhh. Poor baby.
Fuck you, cock sucker. Motherfucker wrecked her life, yet thinks he got a chance. That bitch calls again, I'm usin some vacation time to go cool that fucker.
Shit, Bella just fucking moaned again. If Garrett kicked her in the stomach, I'm gonna twist his insides in and out.
I sauntered over to the training room and hit the button to open the door. Damn, what kind of training is…oh shit. Hit the button Ty. Hit the close button. Where the fuck is tha…there it is. The door done shut. Damn. I don't think they even noticed. I guess I wasn't that far off on the whole vampire baby thing.
Bella POV
"Damn it!"
I was on my ass again.
"You are thinking too much. When you are in a fight, you should flow. You should be a weapon. Not wondering if you should kick or punch. It takes a split second. Read and react. Every time. Without thinking about it."
I hopped to my feet and attacked again. I ran at him thinking I could hit him before he could react.
I took a boot in the face. Size ten, I think.
I stayed on my back this time.
"Are you okay?" He was next to me. He looked worried. Could have been worried before you planted a boot in my face.
"I'm sorry, Bella. I thought you would see it coming."
I sat up and dropped my head.
"I thought I would have seen it coming, too." I whispered.
Garrett kissed my cheek. It sent a slight shiver up my spine. Since Florida, I think the two of us have gotten closer. Since we kissed. We had kissed since then as well. A lot. But nothing else had happened. I sort of figured that it would. But he was waiting. He was waiting for me to make the move that took us to the next level. From the simple love we had, to something more serious. I wanted to take my time. I wanted us to take our time. We had plenty of time. Still, though. I was with him 24/7 literally. Normal people would go nuts being around the same person all the time. Not me. He was like a drug. A drug I couldn't get enough of. He was my addiction.
I turned my head to catch his lips before he pulled back. I kissed him gently. Too gently for my taste. I need to consume him. I grabbed the back of his head, pulled him to me. Our lips touched, and I could feel the venom in my bloodstream responding. My skin became more sensitive. I felt warmer. My nipples hardened against my sports bra to the point that I thought they would burst if they were touched.
I started taking deep breaths, inhaling as much of his scent as I could. He buried his face in my hair.
I was only wearing a sports bra and yoga pants. It was what I usually trained in. He had on only low cut blue stone washed blue jeans and that dagger chain he wore constantly. He moved to kiss me again and I stopped him. Our eyes met.
"What?" He grinned.
"It's time Garrett."
"It's time?" He looked confused. Then he got it.
"You mean it's time for…"
"I love you. I want to make love to you. I have no idea if I will be any good at this but I want to make love to you."
He stared at me so intently.
"I love you." He whispered.
"I know."
"Just the two of us?"
"I'm yours if you want me." I told him honestly.
"I've never wanted anything more in my life."
I lay back on the training mat. It was comfortable and I spent a lot of time during training lying on it.
"Here?" he smiled.
"Yep." I raised my hands over my head and he needed no invitation. His hands unwrapped my bra from my body and he saw my breasts for the first time.
I closed my eyes. Only Jake had seen me like this. It seemed a lifetime ago. I suppose it was. Even then I was too caught up in the moment to think about what I was doing. But I was thinking about this. Despite my confidence in my body I was nervous. I didn't know how he would react.
"Open your eyes." He whispered.
Once again I came out of the darkness to find him looking at me. He grinned.
"Look at me. You are beautiful. You are everything I have ever dreamed of. Never turn your eyes away from me."
I nodded and watched him like he wanted. I watched his lips brush my nipples. His tongue traced them one at a time. His fingers massaged my breasts firmly. I moaned. I thought I heard voices talking in the distance. Must be Ty. Who the hell would he be talk…
Oh God he just pressed his thumb to my pussy. He was rubbing me through my pants. His whole hand was there now rubbing back and forth. I could smell my arousal and I knew he could as well. He looked up from nibbling on my nipple. His eyes were no longer red. They were black. Deep black. I would bet mine were as well.
His fingers just gripped the top of my pants and began sliding them down. His fingers had my panties as well. I raised my ass to help him pull them off. His head dipped between my legs. Oh damn.
What is he…what is he…Oh shit! Oh damn that felt good. Now his fingers were…oh God. His tongue…right there. Oh yes please more. Yes… I have never had that done to me. Never. Oh wow. Oh…what is his thumb doing? Oh! That. Yeah. That's it.
I lost myself. Embarrassment was gone. I grabbed one of my tits with one hand and grabbed his hair with the other and pushed him harder into my pussy. I wanted to tell him more but all I could do was moan. Oh there goes his tongue on my…yes! Oh wow. Just…oh wow.
He stopped.
I whimpered. Until I saw what he was doing. He stood up and unzipped his jeans. His cock fell out. He was hard. Hard, long and thick enough that there was no way it was going to stay upright. It looked…heavy.
A growl started in my stomach and rose. I sat up and wrapped my fingers on his slender hips. I had never done this before. But I knew enough. I had read things. Since I had been spending most of the time in Garrett's room I had been spending my private time doing research on my laptop. It was good practice for my…typing skills.
I shot to my knees and knelt before him. With one hand I grabbed his shaft and with the other I grabbed his balls. I drew him to me.
He was so warm and smooth. I never really had a chance to see Jake's. But I saw Garrett's. It was right in front of me.
I hesitantly stuck my tongue out and touched the tip. He moaned.
Something about that moan gave me confidence. I could affect him. I moved with more of a purpose stroking him.
"Bella." He moaned my name. What a fucking rush. It was time to return the favor. I didn't want to think about this. I would screw it up. I just did it.
His cock was in my throat. I couldn't breathe. I momentarily panicked but remembered I didn't need to breathe.
He was though. He was breathing very heavily. I began bobbing my head back and forth. When I saw this on video I didn't think it looked very fun but I have to admit the power I was feeling. Making him buck his hips. Watching his face. I looked up as I pulled him out of my mouth. He met my eyes and I licked the length of his shaft. God the taste of his skin drove me wild. He just growled.
He lifted me by my shoulders and moved me to the floor. Flat on my back. He looked feral.
"Garrett?"
"Yes?"
"You okay?"
"Never better." He spread my legs with his hand and entered me so quickly I almost missed it. But I felt it. He lay on top of me flush, kissing my lips, parting my lips with his tongue, driving it into me. His cock filled me so completely. I remembered having sex with Jake but I could never remember the sensations. The overwhelming fullness and electricity I was feeling now. I locked my legs around him and held on to him. If I could I would melt into him.
His hands grabbed my hips. I couldn't even move. I grabbed his head and held on. I was completely in his control. He could do what he wanted with me and I never felt more free.
"I'm never letting you go. You are mine." He whispered in my ear.
"I know." I knew it when I first saw him.
"Say it." He growled.
"I'm yours."
"I'm your's too." He breathed into my ear.
"I know." I told him. He slid in and out of me faster. I felt a pressure build in me I had never felt before. My toes warmed. My legs shivered. I gripped his hips with my feet and ground myself as closely as I could. Something came over me. My body exploded in euphoria and I nearly blacked out.
He roared. His body collapsed on me. I ran my fingers through his hair while taking deep breaths. He was still in me. Still hard. I could feel his cum leaking out of me around him.
"Garrett?"
"Yeah?"
"That was…"
"Yeah." He agreed.
"Can we keep going?" I asked.
"Yep."
"Okay." Because I really didn't want to stop.
"Bella?"
"Yeah?"
"I think I bit you."
"Oh…okay. I'm pretty sure I bit you too. Was that bad?"
"No! No…that was…great. Just wanted to make sure you were good with it."
"Yeah. No I'm definitely good with it. Did I do it right?"
"Yeah, no you were great. Very…I love you."
"I love you Garrett."
"Okay. Just wanted to make sure. I wouldn't hold you to anything you might say in the throes of passion but I meant it. You are mine…I hope?"
"Yeah. I'm yours." I giggled. He could be so cocky and then sound so unsure of himself. Mostly just when it came to me. He needed to be sure.
He finally pulled his face out of my hair and smiled. He kissed me slowly but with passion. I could stay like this forever and be hap…
"Hey Garrett? Bella? If you two are done training could ya'll come on out here?" Ty asked.
"Yeah. Be right out." I said quietly. I suppose Ty knows we weren't training.
Garrett pulled out of me and I moaned. I missed the feel of him already. He helped me to my feet and I let him. We got dressed watching each other.
Walking out of the training room I figured I would find out what the hell Ty wanted then make the difficult decision of whether to go to my room or Garrett's. Maybe we could have one room.
Ty looked concerned. I tried not to bite my bottom lip and failed miserably.
"Ya'll done? Just cause I was trying to figure out how I'm gonna train in there since the smell of ya'lls bumpin gonna linger."
"That's why you called us?" Garrett asked, sounding as annoyed as I felt. I just got laid for the second time in my life and I would like to move on to the third, fourth and fifth.
"Nah. Uh, the big guy wants to meet with Bella. He has a mission for her apparently. Says he needs to talk to her personally."
"The good General does not give Bella assignments or missions or anything else. If he wants to talk to her he can…"
"Not the big guy I'm talking about Gar." Ty said.
"You mean?"
"Yeah. I mean."
"What are we talking about? Who is the big guy?" I asked, frustrated.
It was Garrett who answered me.
"Apparently Bella, the President of the United States has a mission he would like you to undertake. Of course you are under no obligation to take it…"
"No. If he…if he wants to take the chance of seeing me then it must be important. We should go."
I suppose the third time would have to wait.