Osa Bella - Chapter 31 "Parade of Beasts" [Twilight FanFiction]

No time for an Author's Note or a .pdf right now. I'll be back with those, though. Promise.
xo,
Myg

CHAPTER 31
Parade of Beasts

There are so many ways to describe pain. Stabbing, searing, blinding, dulling, numbing, defining, absolute, endless, infinite. Familiar. This pain had become so familiar I almost wanted to give it a name all its own, like it was some companion I'd always have by my side. When it came on strong, it tapped into every bad moment I'd ever experienced. As Jacob carried me back to La Push, through the darkening woods, I flashed back to Arlington cemetery, Zack's coffin, the folded flag on my lap, the tears and shoulder pats from concerned family and friends. And then I flashed back to Edward leaving my house in Forks, just two weeks ago, when I thought I'd never see him again. And then over and over, I relived the moment he left me in the woods with Jake, defeated, the haunting agony in his eyes as we parted. The pain closed around me, a suffocating wave stranding me in the cavernous gloom left behind in the flight of my hope.

"Are you awake?" Jake asked, his anger subsided, his concern obvious.

"No," I said with my eyes closed.

"Are you still in a lot of pain?" he asked.

"No," I lied, tears now leaking from the corners of my eyes.

"Let's rest for a few," he said. "I'll phase and see how far the pack has gotten with the Cullens." He sat me down on the ground carefully and I curled into a ball and began sobbing. Jake put his hand on my back.

"I can't stop seeing Tanya's head," I said, shuddering. "It's a nightmare."

"She'll be okay," he said.

"Jake, you're delusional. Her head was torn off by a fucking bear."

"You have to burn a vampire to destroy it, Bella. They gathered all the pieces, so they can repair her."

"What?"

"You really don't know much about vampires, do you?"

"I didn't believe in vampires until last week," I said. "Sometimes I still think what really happened is that I went into a coma that night I overdosed and this is all some crazy dream I'm having."

"Don't even talk like that," he said.

"Let me run with Edward," I whispered. "Please, once the Cullens are out of harm's reach, let me go to him." I saw his conflicted expression through the blur of my tears. He looked behind us, over to where five bears had stopped and sat watching. They had been following us ever since the battle.

"I can't do that," he said, but not coldly. "If I let you run, it would be war."

"I hate them," I said, fresh tears stinging my eyes.

"This is not their fault," Jake snapped. "You don't understand—Edward crushed the spirit of their tribe when he killed that bear. If I send you to him now, the bears will war on the Quileute thinking I've robbed them just like he did. I can't do that. I won't."

"This is fucked!" I said.

"I know it's fucked. You think I want to marry you when you're in love with him?"

"What are we going to do?"

"We're going to be grown-ups and get married and fucking deal with it. There's a bigger picture here we have to consider now."

His words angered me, and that made me feel better, because being angry felt better than feeling dead. I stopped crying.

"Can you phase now and see if they made it to Port Angeles?"

"Yeah, okay," he said, and then he got to his feet, stepped several feet away.

"Jake?"

"What?"

"Thank you for saving Edward's life."

He paused and gave me a hard look. "You're welcome," he said.

#

After confirming that the Cullens had reached the city limits and that the pack were on their way to meet us, Jake phased into a wolf again and I rode on his back, my arms draped around his neck, my hands grasping at the soft, thick fur of his chest to help secure me. My hips ached, my own back was sore and my mind was still reeling from the terrifying events of the day, despite learning that Tanya would live, and that most of the bears could be healed as well. All the way to La Push we were trailed by first five, and then ten, and then more than twenty bears. They made me nervous, despite their respectful distance. The rest of the pack joined us, forming another protective line between us and the bears. Jake took it slow, picking his way carefully over the forest floor, then wading across the Quillayute River as we crossed into La Push.

It was late at night when we arrived and Charlie came sprinting over to us from the tribal council office where he'd been waiting for any word of my whereabouts. "Thank God you're okay," he said as he lifted me off of Jake's back and carried me in the direction of his cruiser.  The wolves phased back as soon as Charlie had me in his arms, their fur disappearing into the naked flesh of mortal men and Leah, the only woman in the pack. They all disappeared inside the council office, except Jake, who walked alongside of us toward the car. From up the road, I saw Sue come running towards us.

"Edward called and said you were on your way," Charlie said. "He said you fell out of a tree. I'm taking you to the Emergency Room."

"I don't need the ER, I just need to lie down so I can finish healing."

"What?" Charlie said, confused.

"Edward's venom gave her regenerating ability." Jake said.

"I could use some Percocet."

"No fucking way," Jake said. "Not a chance."

"Come on," I said. "It hurts like hell."

"Too bad," Jake said. "Charlie, don't let her take that shit."

"I'm not a child," I said.

"Okay, stop arguing," Charlie said.

"I'll do some healing work on you, honey," Sue said taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. "I can probably get some of the edge off that pain."

"Take her to my house," Jake said. "The Ani Tsa gu hi need to believe she's my mate so she's got to stay with me."

"Damn it," I said, my voice cracking. "Dad, what am I going to do?"

"Bella, I don't know," he said. "We'll have to figure out what your options are but right now, I think you've got to do what Jake says. Where's that translator from the UW?"

"Anna Marie? She's still looking through our archives," Sue said.

"We need to talk to her to find a way to get Bella out of this mess," Charlie said. He carried me into the Black's house, into Jake's room and sat me on his bed.

Jake pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt and tossed me some sweatpants and a t-shirt of his. Charlie walked out of the room and I changed and got into bed. I was very stiff and achy still when Sue sat down next to me. She folded her hands in front of her and chanted quietly for a few minutes. Then she placed her palms, now hot with healing energy, on the top of my head.

"You're so cold," she said, looking gravely down at me. "You really came close this time, sweetheart."

I closed my eyes and felt the heat from her hands sinking down into me, from my skull down behind my eyes, into my shoulders. I closed my eyes and could hear Charlie come back in.

"I want to talk to Edward," I said and saw Jake tense up. "Dad, how long ago did you speak with him?"

"A few hours ago," he said. "They were setting sail."

"What the hell am I going to do?"

"Rest now," he said, taking my hand in his. "Then we'll sort it out, okay? First things first."

"You have to marry Jake," Sue said, moving her hands down to my shoulders, where they continued to radiate heat through me. "There's no other way—they'll take you as one of their own otherwise and when you can't phase, who knows what will happen to you?"

"We'll talk about it after Bella gets some of her strength back," Charlie said, pulling up a chair and sitting down nearby.

I rolled over in Jake's bed and stared out the window, now blackened by the dark night. How far had Edward sailed by now? When would I hear from him? Before or after I was Bella Black?

There had to be a way out of this, I thought. There had to be.

#

I slept hard, but still felt exhausted in the morning. At least most of my pain had subsided, and I now had the strength to walk. I got out of bed and crossed the room to the old stuffed chair where Jacob was sleeping, hunched over. I shook him gently.

"Why did you sleep here?" I asked. "You're going to have a stiff neck."

"You were having nightmares," he said, yawning and stretching as he stood up. "Just wanted to keep an eye on you."

"I don't remember them."

"That's probably a good thing."

We dressed, ate, and then went over to the tribal council office to meet with Anna Marie and members of the Ani Tsa' gu hi. Jake, Billy, Charlie, Sue, and Quil Atera Senior all sat around the conference table where several of the Ani Tsa’ gu hi, now in human form, sat wearing old bath robes that I supposed were stocked in the tribal council office to be given to the wolves when they phased in cooler weather. They looked more like unlikely spa guests than an ancient tribe of indigenous people, sitting around in various styles of terrycloth and cotton. Then the old man, my abductor, came into the room stopped before me. I reacted with more fear than I would have expected, recoiling from him, now recalling how he'd nearly suffocated me several days before. Charlie stood up and stepped between us as the man began to speak to me in earnest, though I had no idea what he was saying.

"I don't understand, I don't understand," I kept saying to him until I felt tears in my eyes again.

"Step away," Charlie said, and the man backed off and took a seat across the table from us. He would not take his eyes off of me.

A younger woman, tall and beautiful with shining black hair and palpable enthusiasm dashed into the room. "Is this her?" she asked, "Is this Hala?"

"Bella," Jake said. "This is Anna Marie Gladwell, the post-doc from the UW." Jake had explained that Anna Marie had been working with the Ani Tsa' gu hi all week to try to help locate me and to explain Jacob's claim that I was his intended mate. She was also a member of the Cherokee Nation, so she was particularly interested in the tribe, who were an ancient Cherokee clan.

“You’ve no idea how widespread this is,” Anna Marie chattered after shaking my hand. “We are really onto something big here.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“As far as we can tell, this whole spiritual crisis is not just affecting the members of Ani Tsa' gu hi tribe here at La Push,” she said. “We think we might be talking about the whole black bear population of North America. They are all descendants.”

“What?” I was stunned by the heft of what she was claiming. Had I really been mistaken for the spirit guardian for an entire species?

“What about other bears? Grizzly? Polar?” Billy asked.

“No relation here,” she said. “Affiliated, but not human in essence as far as we know. We’re not sure about Pandas. They might be an Asian descendant of some sort. We haven’t begun to research it but we have our suspicions.”

"And they think Bella is some sort of spiritual leader?" Charlie asked.

"Yes," Anna Marie said. Then she turned to the old man and said something. He nodded and pointed at me. "Hamani says that you are his daughter, Hala," Anna Marie said. "He's never seen you as a human. He says you're very beautiful."

"I'm not his daughter."

"She's my daughter," Charlie said, irritated.

"It's a misunderstanding," I said. "You have to explain this to them."

Anna Marie scowled at me and then turned and spoke to Hamani for several minutes. Their voices rose in pitch, making me nervous.

"He says the cold one has stolen your memories from you. They still don't understand or approve of the Quileute treaty with the cold ones, Jacob."

"Too bad," Jake said. "My great grandfather established that many years ago and we honor it as long as they honor it."

"But the cold one bit Hala. See the mark on her neck there?" Anna Marie said. "Hamani says this is how the cold one stole Hala's memory of who she truly is."

"Well tell him it's not true!" I snapped at Hamani, now at the limit of my patience. He said something to Anna Marie, who shook her head and frowned.

"Bella," Billy said. "You're dealing in the world of legends now. The truth isn't the important thing here. The story is."

"That's right," Anna Marie said. "What they believe is their truth. This is what I'm trying to tell you."

"What the hell am I supposed to do with that?" I said. "I can't be something I'm not."

"Well you're going to have to try," she said, irritated. "An entire bear population is counting on you."

"I am not a bear, God damn it! Can't I take a blood test or something?"

"Hamani will allow you to marry Jacob and stay with him here at La Push," Anna Marie said. "But only if you truly love him. He doesn't want you to be unhappy."

I laughed cynically. "Are you kidding me? He has no authority over me."

"Do you love him?" Anna Marie asked. "Hamani wants to know. He's a little worried Jacob is just looking to consolidate power here."

"What the hell?" Jake said. "We've been protecting them on our land for months, and now he decides not to trust me?"

"What if I don't?" I asked.

"That's fine," Anna Marie said. "They'd prefer to take you out of here, but they'd like you to phase. Human form is more fragile in the wilderness and they want to move you back to the north. They feel they can keep you better hidden up in Canada."

"Okay, I've heard enough," Charlie said standing up, putting his hand over his gun, still in the holster. "Let's go, Bella."

"Charlie, no," Billy said. "Wait a minute."

"They're not taking her anywhere, Billy. This is my daughter we're talking about and I won't just give her up, I don't care if it is every last damn bear in the country who wants her."

"I need to speak to Bella alone," Jake said, standing up and taking me by the hand.  I followed him to a small room down the hall and we stood across from each other, two nations poised over a nuclear warhead. The clusterfuck of my circumstances made me feel insane. For a moment I just wanted to go back to being pathetic, depressed Bella the high school counselor, engaged to the wrong guy, nursing an inappropriate crush on a student, and not this mistaken bear-queen Bella who was being forced into marriage with a werewolf in order to save her vampire lover and his family from annihilation.

Jacob and I sorted out our options. He couldn't let me run, I understood that and I didn't want to bring war on the Quileute. The reason he'd told Hamani he was my mate was to get me back before they discovered I wasn't a bear. He'd done this to protect me. It was the same reason he'd told the Cullens he was marrying me—so that they wouldn't harm me for fear of retaliation. But it had never been necessary with the Cullens. With the Ani Tsa' gu hi, it didn't even matter to them that I claimed not to be Hala. They just refused to listen to me. I railed at Hamani's stubbornness, his denial, his inability to accept the death of his daughter and then I caught myself. I knew his pain of loss—it was my own. How could I be so calloused? But I was still so angry at being in this position, just as I thought I was going to get my happily ever after with the man of my dreams. My disappointment swallowed my compassion and I felt bloated and sick with my own resentment.

"Listen, I know that you love Edward," Jake said, looking down at the engagement ring I still wore on my left hand. His own pain was clear in the edge to his words, the look on his face. "But you need to consider your options here very carefully. I don't want to see you get hurt, and I don't want to see Charlie get hurt doing something stupid to defend you."

"How can you marry me knowing I want to be with Edward?"

"What are my choices? Marry you or let you get dragged to Canada to live in the wilderness with a pack of bears?"

"You're going to hate me for the rest of our lives if we do this," I said. "It'll suck."

"Well, you're going to hate me back, so at least we'll be even."

"What will they do if we don't get married?"

"I don't know, Bella. Hopefully they'll just leave, but they won't leave without you. I will fight to protect you, but I don't think we can win against so many."

"I do love you, Jake," I said. "You know that."

"I'm glad there's one memory Edward didn't steal," he said.

"But I don't want to marry you."

"I don't want to marry you either, Bella. But I will marry you, if it will keep you safe."

"I don't deserve that."

"Don't be stupid."

We walked back into the conference room. Hamani stood up and gestured to me to come near. I was really beginning to hate the sight of him.

"So?" Anna Marie asked.

"I love Jacob and I want to marry him and stay here with him at La Push."

"What does that mean?" Charlie asked.

"It means they're now the proud new leaders of an entire species of North American mammals," Anna Marie said. "Congratulations, Jacob and Hala."

"Bella," I said through gritted teeth.

#

We set the date for the wedding for a week from that day, Saturday. The day before Edward's birthday. It was too soon, I argued. There were things I needed to do to prepare. I needed a dress, a caterer, a haircut, I said. But what I really needed was time. Time to think. Time to figure a way out. But Hamani insisted the wedding take place before the new moon, and Jake did not want to make the Ani Tsa' gu hi anymore anxious or suspicious of his own intentions, and I knew one thing. Edward would come for me soon, before I married Jake, or he wouldn't come for me until the very end of my days.

"Why do you hate Edward so much?" I asked Sue as we were fixing dinner at her place that night. She paused over the coleslaw and let out a heavy sigh.

"He's not good for you," she said.

"He's a good person and he loves me," I argued.

"He's not a person, Bella. He's a thing of darkness. Whatever his intent, he cannot change what has been done to him and he should not take you with him to that fate."

"It's my decision," I said. "Not his."

"You've chosen wrong," she said. "Think of your father, Bella. Think of Zack. Imagine being parted from them and everyone you ever loved for eternity. Forever. That's what Edward offers you. Spiritual exile. For what? You can love many men. Why throw away eternity on just one?"

"You're wrong about him."

"Well, what if I'm not? Are you really willing to take that chance?"

"Let's not talk about it, then. I can't stand to hear you say those things about him. It breaks my heart."

"You've been through so much," she said, putting her arm around me. "Bella, I know what it is to lose a husband, you know? I know the pain you carry. And I also know this—you love Jacob, and if you allow yourself, you will get over Edward. In time."

There was no point in arguing with her. I knew she meant well, however wrong she was. Charlie and Jake walked in the back door of Sue's house with a cooler. Seth was pushing Billy up the sidewalk. Leah was setting the picnic table. We were all going to have dinner together, just like any other summer evening. Like it was all normal. But I felt far from normal.

"What's wrong, Bella?" Jake asked, looking at the expression on my face.

"Nothing," I said, my heart going softer at the sight of him.

I hadn't had any alcohol since the night of my overdose, so the first Rainier I had at dinner went right to my head. And it felt good. Real good. Too good. So I had another. And then another. And then I was putting the stereo on and convincing Seth to make margaritas and getting Leah to dance on the front porch with me, as I watched about seven curious bears just off the perimeter of Sue's property study us.

I spun drunkenly in their direction, awkward and out of time with the music. "Did you hear Leah? I am a fucking bear goddess," I slurred.

"You're trashed, is what you are." She laughed.

"I'm the biggest lie in the history of the indigenous peoples of North America, baby. I'm a god damned legend now."

I fell back into the railing and Jake came out and caught me by the arm just before I slipped down the stairs.

"Get me another beer, husband," I said, and felt slightly nauseous. "You're going to love being married to me, aren't you?"

"Let's go home," he said. "I think you've had too much already."

"No, I want another," I said.

"Bella, you're done," Jake said.

"You're not my fucking father."

"Charlie," Jake called into the house. "Bring me some water?"

My father walked out onto the porch, his face heavy with concern. He handed me a glass and I took a long drink and kept my mouth shut.

"You all right, Bella?" he asked. "Why don't you go lie down in Sue's room."

"I'm okay," I said. "I'll go back to Jake's and go to bed."

"Good idea," he said.

I stumbled down the stairs and Jake steadied me but I pushed him away from me.

"Don't touch me!" I said and he backed away from me a few steps. My outburst caused the bears who'd been off in the distance to come nearer. "Go away!" I yelled at them.

"Calm down," Jake said, putting his arm around me and steering me towards the road.

"Fuck you!" I hauled off and punched him for no reason at all, not even noticing how close the bears came to where we stood. I landed my fist squarely to his jaw and heard a crack, and wasn't sure at first if it was my hand or his face, but I didn't care. I just kept swinging. I hit him in the stomach, then I hit him in the chest, and then I kicked him until I realized he wasn't stopping me. He wasn't even defending himself. He was just taking it. "Fight back," I said, shoving him. "Come on. Hit me back."

"Are you done now?"

"Come on, hit me. Please?"

"No, Bella."

"This sucks."

I stumbled forward, cradling my hand, now aching from the repeated blows to Jake's upper body and felt fresh tears blurring my vision. I tripped again, this time over the curb and smacked my face against the post of Sue's fence on my way down to the ground.

"Holy shit," Jake said, leaning over me. "Let me see you." He moved his fingers tenderly over the spot where I'd hit. "You're going to have a black eye."

"Great," I said, crying. He pulled me to my feet and then lifted me in his arms and carried me down the dark road back to his house, three of the bears still trailing behind us. I wanted to lash out more, but it wasn't helping because he was being too nice. "Can you please, please be more of a dick?" I asked. "I really need to be mad at you right now."

"Sorry," he said, not even cracking a smile.

"Why? Why couldn't you have just told me everything last year? I was so in love with you then, you asshole. And you just blew me off. We could have avoided all of this."

"It wouldn't have mattered," he said, sadly.

"What do you mean?"

"You would have met Edward," he said, bitterly. "And you would have broken my heart anyway."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do," he said.

"Look," I said, and then paused. I wanted to believe that I was the kind of woman who would have honored a commitment to Jake, even in the face of Edward Cullen. But knowing about Alice's vision, could I really say that was true? Had I married Jake before I met Edward, would things have turned out any differently? I just didn't know. "I'm sorry, Jake," I said.

"Yeah, me too."

We arrived at his house and he carried me into his room and lay me on the bed. I kicked off my shoes and rolled onto my side and tried not to think.

“Do you have any tequila?” I asked. “I want to pass out.”

“You don’t need any tequila,” he said.

I squeezed my eyes shut and stuffed my head under the pillow. Jacob left the room and came back with a tall glass of water and two Advil. I took them and then felt waves of nausea wash over me. But it wasn’t the alcohol. I began to cry, my body shaking as I tried to control myself. Then I felt Jacob’s warm arms encircle me, felt him press his face to the back of my neck.

“Please don’t hate me,” he whispered.

“I don’t hate you, Jake," I said, turning around and hugging him back. His warm hands brushed the tears from my face, but his touch just made me cry harder. "I love you," I said. "I really do love you."

"But just not enough," he said. "I know."

#

In the morning, I lay alone in bed quietly, praying my headache would not last the whole day. I could hear hushed voices in the living room. "She just needs time," Sue was saying. "I do think Edward has her enchanted, it's their way, you know? Once she's away from him for awhile, she'll remember how much she loves you, Jake."

"It doesn't matter," Jacob said.

"She will get over him," she said. "Trust."

"Sue, it doesn't matter. I have to marry her whether she gets over him or not, or we'll never see her again."

"Do you think he will to try to come for her?" Billy asked.

"If he does he'll get himself killed," Jake said. "The Ani Tsa' gu hi are all over our lands and they'll never let him near her."

"What about our pack?" Billy asked. "Will they kill him?"

"They'd better not," Charlie said. "You know what that would do to Bella. It'd be Zack all over again."

"But if Edward gets her, he'll turn her, Charlie, don't you realize that?" Sue said. "She'll have no access to the next world. She'll be lost."

"Can you reach him?" Jake asked Charlie.

"Yeah, probably," Charlie said.

"Warn him then," Jake said. "Because there's no way he's not coming for her."

Osa Bella - Chapter 30 "Lobo Rey" [Twilight FanFiction]

Hi! As per TexasKatherine, this is now officially the chapter where Edward and Bella go off to Reckoner and have wild monkey sex for about 17,000 words and then sail off into the sunset and THE END! Or it will be as soon as I come back and revise it a little. Love ya!

Here's your .pdf!


xo,
Myg

CHAPTER 30

Lobo Rey

All the leaves, the bark of the trees, the underbrush, and the air swirled around me, invaded me. The intense pain from my broken bones made speech nearly impossible. All I could do was will my heart not to stop. I felt like I was bleeding internally again, like I had become nothing but blood and dust all mingled inside a sack of flesh and that there was just no way my form was going to hold. I was withering, right there in Edward's arms as he ran faster, now faster again to the north.

Behind us I heard more bears, and then more, rolling up on us like a thunderhead. Edward was fast, but carrying me in his arms slowed him down. I thought he should leave me behind and save himself. Maybe the bears would spare me, but I knew if they caught us they'd never spare him. I prayed that Edward might hear my thoughts, but if he did he said nothing. I couldn't hear his, though I could guess what they were—don't die, Bella.

"Come on, Bella," he said, as I felt my pulse grow fainter. "Stay with me. Please."

"It's Edward! He's got her," I heard Emmett's voice, booming from a distance. "They're headed north."

"Run!" Edward yelled. "Don't follow. We're outnumbered."

But no sooner had Edward said it than I could sense the presence of the Cullens, a cold blast of air coming toward us from the east. "We can't fight them off," Edward called out to them. "There are too many. We have to run."

"They're catching up, Edward," Emmett called, now closing in on us as we continued our race to the north. "We're going to have to fight."

"How many vampires do we have?"

"Twenty," I heard Carlisle's normally cool voice strained. "But the others have to find us. They were all tracking to the east of here."

"There are nearly twice that many bears following now," Jasper said. "If we fight before too many more arrive we have a chance."

"She's fading, Carlisle," Edward said, his voice pained.

"Stop here and change her and we'll fight them," Emmett said. "Don't take the chance. We'll defend her."

"If we're defeated and she stays human she has a chance. If I change her they'll destroy her with the rest of us."

"We have to fight," Emmett said, jumping over the trunk of a downed tree.

"They're getting closer," I heard Rosalie say from a little further behind. "What's the plan?"

"Keep running," Edward said. "Run until we have no choice. Where are Alice and Esme?"

"Searching for the others," Carlisle said.

And so we all continued to run through the forest together, Carlisle, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie behind us in a defensive line. We ran so fast that I could hear the trees moaning as we passed. The trampling of the undergrowth, the scampering away of wildlife felt like a runaway forest fire was coming through, and we were the beacons of its destruction.

"They're too close," Rosalie said, a little panicky. "Emmett, they're too close."

Then like a wave breaking on a rocky shoreline, the bears were upon us. I quailed as I realized just how many there were. Bears were everywhere.

"Make a perimeter around Bella," Carlisle yelled. And I saw Carlisle, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie wheel about us, forming a protective circle.

Edward looked at me with grief in his eyes. "Carlisle!" Edward yelled, checking my vitals.  Carlisle was at my side in an instant.

I heard a sound like a boulder crashing to the ground. "Emmett!" Rosalie screamed as a bear knocked her off her feet. Emmett gave a terrifying roar as he and Edward leaped to her aid.

"Don't let two of them get hold of you at the same time," Jasper shouted. "Evade! Evade!"

"Keep breathing, Bella," Carlisle said to me, gently straightening my limbs as he crouched protectively over me. I cried out in agony as he aligned my arms, my legs, my neck. Behind us I heard trees being broken, the sharp sound of kicks, punches, bodies colliding and the intermingled grunts and moans of pain from the battle steps away. "You can heal," Carlisle said, insistently, commanding me with his eyes. "I've seen you do it before. Concentrate."

"Don't let me die," I said, tears in my eyes. "Turn me, Carlisle. Please turn me before its too late."

"You'll be too vulnerable," he said. "Edward is right. Your hope now is to stay human."

"Don't let me die. Please don't let me die."

"I swear to you I won't, Bella," he said. "Just breathe. You've got to concentrate."

I tried to do as he directed, tried to will my mind to heal my body by concentrating on my breath and the warmth of the daylight. I tried to block out the terror that took place just steps away and think about the light. I sent heat into every part of me and then I could feel it—healing energy. It was still painful, but I could also sense that I was coming back together. I would be whole again. I would be whole. I fucking insisted I would be whole. For him.

"Edward, over here!" Jasper called, and then there was the sound of breaking bones and the agonized cries of a gravely injured beast.

"Don't drink their blood," Edward yelled. "You'll get distracted."

I turned my head and saw Alice and Esme run up to us with Tanya, Peter and six other vampires from the party.

"They're all we could find," Alice said to Carlisle. "We can't last very long out here," she said.

"We've got to run," Tanya said. "It's our only chance."

"We can't outrun them now," Carlisle said getting to his feet.

"Leave me," I said. "Save yourselves. You can't let yourselves be destroyed out here."

"Oh God, Jasper," cried Alice. She ran to where Emmett and Edward were pulling a bear off of Jasper while another pawed at his legs. With a ferocious howl, Alice nearly severed the bear's head with a sharp blow and a tearing bite. But as fast as the bear was dispatched, two more closed in on her. Esme flew at them, a mother enraged.

"We're not leaving you here, Bella," Carlisle said. "Tanya, stay with Bella until I can get Edward out of there. If we can give them more of a head start then we can disperse and lead them away."

Carlisle leaped onto the back of a large bear headed for Esme and jerked its head to the side, snapping its neck.

There was a loud, crackling sound that I thought might be thunder from a coming storm, but it was a tree breaking in half as Emmett was thrown into it by two bears. It was falling right toward me, but Tanya caught it and pulled it to the side at the last moment. A bear charged us and reared on its hind legs over me, and I braced myself to be crushed under its weight. Then Edward roared as he tackled it. He sank his teeth into its leg and I watched a river of bright red blood arc into the air as he let go. He came to my side. "I've got to get you out of here," he said. "How much pain are you in now? Can I move you?"

"Your family," I said. "They can't hold out against so many."

"We'll all run together. We've got to get to the water—we have the advantage there. Are you strong enough to ride on my back?"

"If you bite me but just inject me with a trace of your venom, won't I get a boost?"

"I can't risk doing that here, Bella," he said. "Not now."

"Okay, carry me on your back," I said. He helped me sit up. I moaned in pain, but I at least I now had the strength to sit. Tanya stood before us, protectively as the rest of the vampires continued to fight the bears several feet away. Two bears emerged from the underbrush and took us by surprise. One jumped on Edward and tumbled with him, carrying him several yards away. Tanya pulled the bear off of Edward, only to be pinned by the other, whose massive jaws clamped down on her thigh.

"No!" Edward yelled. There was a horrifying squeal, like metal plates being torn apart, as the bear ripped Tanya's leg off. Edward grabbed the bear's head by the ears and smashed it into a large rock. But as he did, the first bear began to twist Tanya's head off.

"No!" I screamed. "No!"

Tanya's arms began to flail and her face cracked like dry earth in the hot sun until her body stopped moving. Edward flew onto the bear's back and crushed its skull. Another bear leaped over them and came straight toward me. Edward charged it and threw it into a tree.

"We're not going to make it," Rosalie cried. "We're not going to make it!" Edward gave her a desperate look and I felt hope retreat.

And then I heard it, along with everyone else. The fighting paused for a beat as we all registered the distant howling, eerie and foreboding. Jake.

"The wolves are coming," I said.

The howl grew louder, siren-like, more terrifying as it drew as it near. The other vampires looked frightened as they heard it, as if they all recognized that this was the war cry of Jacob Black, legendary vampire hunter.

"We've got to run!" Peter cried. "It's the wolves—we're done for."

Then I heard Emmet yell, "Edward look out!" Three bears attacked Edward as he was distracted by the noise, one pulling on his arm, another his legs.

"Edward!" I screamed.

Carlisle jumped on one of the bears and fought to pull it away. Edward broke free but then two more bears turned on Carlisle, one trapping him against the trunk of a tree while the other grabbed his neck in his jaws and began to crush it. Edward was fighting off two more bears as the other vampires continued defending.

Then with the force of a tornado, the wolves came pounding in, fur bristling, teeth bared. Jake was out in front, now larger than the largest bear among them. He ran to Carlisle and bared his teeth at the bears who held him as the other wolves lined up behind him. Jake growled and snarled and the pack followed suit, pushing the bears back as the vampires took cover behind the wolves. Carlisle realigned his own neck, still somewhat dazed and then stood up and said, "Thank you, Jacob."

"What the hell is going on?" I asked.

"He's getting the bears to stand down," Edward said, coming over to me. And it was true, the bears had stopped their attack. The silence of the woods seemed to swell as the melee subsided.

Then Edward turned sharply to Jake, as though he'd been asked a very hostile question. "Yes," Edward said. "But it would have killed her—and me. I had no choice." Jake growled viciously at him.

"What is it?" Carlisle said.

"The kermode bear that I killed at Lake Crescent," Edward said, now distraught. "Jacob says it was their spirit guardian. They believe she was their direct link to the next world."

"Oh, my God," Carlisle said. "Edward—no wonder you were so affected by its blood."

"It's worse," Edward said. "One of the bears saw Bella run from me when I killed her—they think Bella is her, phased into human form."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"They think I've stolen you from them."

"But they're wrong," I said. "We have to tell them. Jake, you have to tell them."

"This is very primitive communication, Bella…" Edward put his face in his hands briefly, then looked up at me. "Jake got this information from someone—some translator—back at La Push."

"Jake," I said. "You have to tell them I'm not her."

"He can't explain anything to them right now," Edward said, looking ill. "Bella—they think you're Jacob's mate. He told them you were marrying him so they would bring you back to La Push. That's probably what the tribe was doing when I found you."

"What? No," I said. "No."

Jake turned and came to where we were. He walked up to Edward and drove him several steps back from me with his head. I expected Edward to argue or push back, but I could see him restraining himself and backing off. Then Jacob came to where I sat on the ground and stood over me, protectively.

"No!" I said to Jacob.

"Bella," Edward said. "Jacob can't keep the bears from attacking unless they believe you're going to marry him and unify the two tribes. They believe he's going to be your husband and their king."

"Tell them no," I said. "It's not true."

"Jacob," Edward said. "You need to phase and explain it to her."

Jake arched his neck over me, possessively. The bears backed further away, cautiously as the rest of the wolves closed the circle around the vampires who stood near us. Jake phased and crouched over me, naked. I began to cry.

"What the fuck did you do?" I yelled at him.

"What the fuck did I do?" he said, furious. "What did I do? I just saved your fucking blood suckers, that's what I did. And you're welcome."

"Don't be an asshole," Edward said. "She's in a lot of pain."

"What the hell happened to her?"

"I fell out of a tree," I said.

Jake shook his head at me. "Why didn't you tell me what he did?" he demanded. "Do you have any idea the consequences of this?"

"How the hell could we know that?" I yelled back.

“Do you understand how evil an act it is to slaughter and drink the blood of a spirit animal? Do you know how lost these beings are now? They will never stop hunting you.”

“Explain that they’re wrong,” I said. “I’m not some spirit animal, or whatever the hell they think I am."

“Yes, I can see that,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean they will.”

“So what the hell am I going to do?”

"You're going to marry me," he said. "Or else they're going to take you back into the forest and wait for you to phase into a bear and I have no idea what they'll do to you once they figure out that you're not her."

"What about Edward? What about the Cullens?"

"They'll kill them and I can't do anything about it unless the Ani Tsa gu hi believe I'm going to be their leader. The only way I can do that is if you marry me."

"Edward?" I said, desperate. "What do I do?"

"You're going to ask him?" Jake said, furious. "After what he's done?"

"Bella," Edward said. "It's okay."

"It's not okay," I said, crying. "They can't kill you. I can't handle that."

Edward moved to comfort me but Jake glared at him.

"Don't come anywhere near her if you want to live," he said, and as he spoke, I noticed the bears back on their haunches again, ready to attack. Edward stood still, his eyes pained as he looked at me.

Sometimes in the face impossible circumstances, you begin to understand that your will and your desires mean nothing in the face of your destiny—they are only agonies burdening you on the path to the inevitable.

I recalled vividly that night at Lake Crescent, when I provoked the spirit bear and Edward killed her to save my life. Now, for this, he would not be mine. I would not be his. But by my own hand in this moment, he would live. That much I could do.

"It's your call, Edward," Carlisle said.

"No," I said. "It's mine."

"Bella," Edward said, looking into my eyes. It was all he had to say. He, too, understood what had to be done.

"Do you promise you can get Edward and his family out of here safely?" I asked Jacob.

"Yes," he said. "I promise."

"Okay," I said. My heart, which had been weakened by my fall from the tree, strained by the coursing adrenaline of my pain, now fell heavy inside of me and broke. "I'll marry you."

I couldn't look at Edward.

"Can you walk?" Jake asked.

"No," I said, my voice cracking.

"Let me examine her and see how far she's healed," Carlisle said. "I can align her again before we leave."

"Don't come near her. You have to leave for the city," Jake said. "Go to the north. My pack will go with you and protect you. We have no idea how many bears are involved but we know it's a lot more than this."

"You'd do that for us?" Jasper asked.

"I'm doing it for Bella," Jake said. My tears fell heavily as the vampires began to move off with the pack.

"Edward," I cried as Jacob lifted me off the ground. Edward reached for me, like he was going to take me right out of Jake's arms, but then stopped himself as the bears growled and shifted toward him.

"For her sake," Jacob said. "Don't get yourself killed."

"We go to Reckoner and sail back to Alaska," Carlisle said. "Without Bella."

I began to take Edward's ring from my finger to return it, but he shook his head at me, very subtly. The bears must have believed the ring was from Jake, I realized. Edward's eyes locked on mine then, like they had so many times before, and he tried to soothe me but I wouldn't allow it. I wanted to stay with the pain of this separation, because it was the part of him I could keep with me. Our silent conversation was only a moment but transmitted an eternity of longing. Our hearts mingled in that desperate space, making their final commitments. Saying their last goodbyes.

And then they were gone.

Osa Bella - Chapter 29 "Anyone's Ghost" [Twilight FanFiction]

I know, I know, I left you all in a terrible state with that cliffie last time, what with Bella being all dragged off by some old man bear at the end. I know you were all prepared, just itching for Edward and Jacob to be all RAWR and fighty and shit, and that didn't happen. But it's good when you don't know what's coming, right?

If you'd like to start from the beginning, try it here at fanfic.net or you can use this link to search for the OB posts right here at Twitarded, or you can go to Osa Bella's blog here and get all the .pdfs.

We've got about five chapters left. That's right. Somebody hold me.

I'll just say this: I hope you enjoy Chapter 29, "Anyone's Ghost." And I hope you'll leave me your comments here, or at Fanfiction.net, or hell, some of you are so awesome you leave me comments in both places AND tweets too! (looking right at you @Hollister_1980). Every single comment and review and email and tweet I get means the world to me. That's truth right there.

Here's your .pdf of Chapter 29. See you all below.
xox,
Myg

CHAPTER 29

Anyone's Ghost

The breeze, the smell of moss and dirt and the dampness of the air told me I was still outside, even before I opened my eyes. Something soft lay against me, moving rhythmically, and I realized it was a belly rising and falling in the steady breaths of sleep. I reached my hand tentatively towards it and felt the soft pelt of an animal, a quick and steady heartbeat. Something next to it shifted and as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw two black bear cubs, nestled into my side, and I held my hand over the heart of the smaller one. Not wanting to disturb their sleep, I moved very slowly away from them and then began to walk away quietly, but quickly, passing another black bear curled into a tight ball, fast asleep.

I had no idea where I was, other than alone in the woods, though I didn’t know what forest it was. There was no moon and no way to see the stars through the thick trees and certainly not through the heavy clouds hanging close above. The air was cool and I was grateful it wasn’t raining. I walked steadily in some direction I decided to call west, though I didn't really know.

The forest is a different kind of place in the middle of the night. It’s quiet, but it isn’t peaceful, and the soft, subtle movements you do hear score all kinds of dark fantasies. But that night I wasn’t afraid of vampires or wolves or bears, or even ghosts, demons or devils. I was only afraid I would die out there and never see Edward again. That he’d never know what happened to me. That I’d never become his wife.

And so I kept walking. I walked all through the night, steadily in one direction. Unless I was headed due south, I would have to hit some major water body sooner or later, and if I could get that far, then I could find civilization.

Light filtered down through the canopy of leaves as the sun came up, but it was a dull, gray light. I would have appreciated a good dose of bright sunlight that day.

What had happened in my absence? Had Edward gone to La Push to find me? Had he fought with Jacob? Whatever ensued, at this point Edward was probably out looking for me, perhaps even somewhere nearby. With that thought, I walked faster, picking my way deftly through the underbrush, rocks and stumps of fallen trees. I crossed several small brooks where I was able to drink. I watched for signs of unwelcome visitors, bears at the top of that list, but crossed paths with none. I walked all day, but I there was no sign of Edward, nor any vampire. There was no sign of Jake either. When darkness came again I stopped but I did not sleep. Instead I dreamed with my eyes open.

A flash of white played in the dark, flitting in and out behind the trunks of distant trees. Not an animal, there was no sound to it at all, though it had form, no substance. Not a ghost, though at that point even a ghost might have been a welcome sight. This, I was certain, was a spirit. A spirit bear. But she came no closer. I began to walk again, in her direction, but I never reached her. I followed her the rest of that dark night.

#

On the second morning, I welcomed the warmth of sun, saw the rays of light breaking through the cloud bank, down through the canopy of leaves. I came to the top of a steep hill. If I could get to the top of one of these tall trees, I might be able to see for miles, and maybe I’d be able to tell if I was anywhere near civilization.

I’d never been much of a climber, but decided to try. With some height, I might get a decent view of the valley below and get some idea of where I should head. I reached for the lowest branch of the nearest tree, but it was too high. I looked for something I could step on, but found nothing that would work. The big enough rocks were too heavy to move, and the fallen limbs of trees were not thick enough. I leaped into the air a few times but couldn’t jump high enough to reach it. I surveyed the nearby trees but couldn’t find one positioned as well for viewing the valley.

Then I remembered how Edward had climbed the tree on Sucia Island by pulling himself up the trunk by his arms and thigh muscles. I grabbed hold of the trunk tightly, the bark pressing painfully into my palms and forearms at first, but then I got a good hold and was able to scramble up to the first branch using my thighs and gripping the trunk with my feet and hands. I wasn’t as fast as Edward, and certainly not as graceful, but with effort I was able to climb from branch to branch slowly all the way to the top.

I rested in the crown of this old conifer and looked out over the valley. From here, the sun and shadows of the hills told me I’d been heading north, not west. There was a massive river bend to the north. I wished I’d had my wilderness map, a compass, something to help me identify this location. It looked distinctive enough, familiar even. This had to be either some part of the Sol Duc or if I was further south, maybe the Bogachiel. But I didn’t recognize it, and I didn’t see any buildings, no sign of civilization anywhere. No campsites, no tourists, no cars, no roads. Just endless nature. It was magnificent. And daunting as hell. I looked to the south, down in the valley and back to the north, trying to decide which direction I would head in next. Downriver, I decided. That would be my best bet.

Then below in the valley something glinted, brighter than the water’s surface in the sunlight, like someone held a large mirror to the sky. It had to be a few miles away. And then I saw another, a sunspot just like it, and then moving like light itself over the river. And then I saw another further to the north, moving rapidly along the riverbank. Could it be the Cullens?

“Here! I’m up here!” I yelled as loud as I could, realizing that with the wind and the distance there’d be no way they could hear me, even with their superhuman hearing. But I yelled again, “Edward! I’m up on the hill!”

I saw them all converge. There were more now, maybe ten all together. I suddenly hoped they really were the Cullens and not some other vampire coven that had come out to frolic in the sun away from the usual tourist spots.

Climbing down was a lot harder than going up, and every time I looked down I became dizzy, making the whole ordeal twice as dangerous. I was certain I was losing them, that they’d search in the wrong direction and that when I finally reached the river bank they’d be long gone.

In my haste to reach the ground my foot slipped and slid down the trunk of the tree. I reached out for a branch to stop my fall but missed and tumbled hard, crashing through several weaker branches below. I felt a rib crack as it made contact with a large limb before I went into a terrifying freefall. I landed with a sickening thud on the ground, into a broken heap.

#

Breathe, keep breathing, Bella, I said to myself. In—two, three, four. Out—two, three, four. I couldn’t inhale too deeply because something was wrong with one of my lungs. I was lying on my back, one arm bent beneath me. I knew it but I couldn’t feel it. I couldn’t feel my legs. The parts of my body I could feel hurt so badly I had to fight myself from having another out of body experience. I was afraid if I did I wouldn’t be able to come back this time, and I had to live until Edward found me.

I couldn’t yell because I couldn’t take a deep enough breath, but I could make noise, so I kept saying their names. Edward, Alice, Carlisle, Edward, Edward, Edward. They would hear me if they came close enough, and it wouldn’t have to be all that close. Jasper, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie. Edward, Edward, Edward. Please find me. Please find me before I die. Please.

Saying their names like this made me feel panicky and panicking wasn't going to help me live longer. I needed to keep making noise, though, because it would help Edward find me. I began to sing, faintly:

And the Lord, he made us fools
The prettiest of fools, oh lord he did
Stand here holding all the rain
Can you hold it through the years?
Open up your fantasy and ride your darkest fear
Baby I will get us home.
(lyrics mis-remembered from Fantasy by Family Band)

And though I was still in pain I now felt more hopeful, as though the song itself had reached right into my soul and calmed it like a frightened child. My thoughts were no longer racing and my heart rate was slowing down. I sang it again, from the top, and when I finished singing it the second time, I realized I was no longer alone.

“Isabella, what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into now?”

It had been more than five years since I’d had the comfort of that voice, both loving and lightly admonishing, but nearly always amused. Zachary knelt beside me.

“Zack,” I said. “I can’t feel my legs.”

“I know," he said.

“Am I dead then?” I asked. “Is that why you’re here?”

"You're caught up in the middle of something pretty big, Bella."

"What am I going to do?"

"Do what you have to do, babe."

"I don't know what that is. Do I let go? Do I fight?"

"I can't tell you that," he said. "Only you know that."

"Can I leave with you right now?"

"I'm not going anywhere." He smiled like we were having a private joke and with my one arm that wasn't broken, I reached for his outstretched hand, but instead waved through the ether where he’d been.

“Zachary, don’t leave me here alone,” I cried, but it was too late. He was already gone.

But he didn’t leave me alone.

Before I could see them, I could feel their gaze, at first some distance off. I could smell them, clean but heavy like the earth. They lumbered slowly toward me and I prayed, please God, don’t let them try to move me. That might really kill me.

I lay still, staring up at the leaves, watching them turn over in the breeze. I was quiet now and tried to think how I might communicate with them not to touch me. I was fairly certain I was bleeding internally. I didn’t know about the condition of my neck, but it was likely my spine was badly damaged. I just wanted to lie still and breathe as long as I could hold out, hopefully until I could see Edward and he could change me, or at the very least, so I could see him one last time before I died.

Then a group of six naked men and women approached me. One young man bent over me and I gazed at his kindly, concerned looking face.

"Please don't touch me," I said. "I'm very badly hurt."

He reached down and carefully pulled my left arm out from under my back and I cried out. Then he pointed to my engagement ring and said some words to the others in the group. He lifted the bear fetish from my neck and inspected it. The men and women circled me and began chanting something sorrowful. Perhaps a funeral rite, I thought. But I was determined not to die. Not yet.

Then the man slowly straightened my limbs, one by one. I gasped and cried out again as I began to experience a sensation like an electric current running through my veins. I could feel my toes and fingers again. I had a spike in my pain but at least could feel every part of my body now. I drew in a slow, deep breath and felt a sharp jab in my lung that turned to a dull ache.

Their voices grew louder, less sorrowful, more powerful as I felt my pain intensify. I throbbed from head to toe. I moved my feet and then my legs, my fingers and hands and arms. I hurt but I could move now. I turned my head from left to right, slowly.

The tribesmen and women never spoke directly to me, but their voices turned to a clamor of debated positions. They were making a decision, and that decision was to take me with them.

They pulled me gently to my feet, but I could barely stand without feeling as though my bones would crumble to dust. The largest of the men gently picked me up and I groaned again as pain ripped through my core. A woman took my hand and held it and I felt heat radiating from her through me, soothing the edge of my discomfort. Then we began to walk, slowly, towards the river.

As we picked our way carefully down the side of the hill, I looked to the south, downriver but could no longer see those points of sunlight flitting along the riverbank. My heart sank. Maybe I hadn't really seen any vampires at all.

I worried I might pass out again from the pain of being carried and was relieved when one of the women motioned for us to stop as soon as we reached the river. I was laid out on a bed of leaves and two women brought me cool water in their cupped hands to sip, but drinking was difficult. I sputtered and coughed and my lungs hurt. Another man came back with the root of some plant and motioned I should chew on it. In my teeth it tasted faintly of licorice and dirt. I hoped it would dull the pain.

They sat down on the ground, closer to the riverbank and began to talk, some intense discussion I couldn't follow. I felt myself fading again as the pitch of their voices rose. I could tell they were arguing, and then they were gesturing with their hands and looking over to where I lay, their eyes full of worry, perhaps fear. Then they turned their attention to something across the river that I could not see or hear.

I tried to lift myself onto my elbows so I could look when I was suddenly lifted, very gently, by cold hands that I would know anywhere. My eyes closed in a silent prayer of gratitude as I caught and stifled a sob in my throat. I opened my eyes and saw Edward's silent, worried face looking intently at me, and though I was overcome with unbearable pain, I managed to stay very quiet as he whisked me off into the woods.

My heart sputtered and then raced as I felt his arms, strong and protective around me, cradling me as he tore off into the brush, away from where the tribesmen and women had been distracted, now I assumed, by the other Cullens. He looked upset as he glanced down, still running as fast as I'd ever seen him run.

"Bella, you're hurt," he said. "How bad?"

Despite the ringing in my ears, I could hear the frantic rustling of underbrush behind us, the grunts and roars of the tribe, now back in bear form, as they chased us through the woods. "They're coming, Edward. They're coming." I was so weak now I could barely whisper it.
"I know. I'm going to outrun them. If I can get us to the water, we can get away."

"Edward, I think I'm dying," I said, weakly.

"Did they hurt you?" His voice was tense with worry.

"I fell from a tree," I said. "I broke nearly every bone. They found me and put my body back together but the pain, Edward. It's so bad I don't know how long I can stand it."

"Okay," he said. "I can hear your pulse, it's weak but it's steady now. Are you having any trouble breathing?"

"Some," I said.

"As long as your heart continues to beat we're okay. I'm going to turn you as soon as we get away from them."

"Can you turn me now? Before it's too late?"

"No, Bella," he said. "There are at least ten following from what I can hear. I can't fight off ten bears alone and protect you. I've got to keep running."

"Where are the others?"

"On the other side of the river," he said. "We were tracking you."

"I don't know how much time I have." I was too weak to even cry. I could not stand the thought of dying in his arms, though if I was going to die, there was no place I'd rather be. My eyes closed and I felt myself begin to detach from the pain, from the physical form that housed me. The hyper speed of Edward's running made my bones, my insides feel pulverized. I tried to concentrate on that pain, to anchor myself to it, to stay in my body as he drove us ever faster into the unforgiving forest.

"You've got to hold on, Bella," he said. "Please hold on."

Osa Bella - Chapter 28 "Graduation" [Twilight FanFiction]

Oh yeah, super surprise sneak attack of the OB right here, right now, just in time for your late night Saturday, ya'll!  I am pleased to FINALLY get us all to graduation, and honestly? If you had the whole story in one shot, it wouldn't take weeks to read a few days worth of action, which to me feels a little weird, but hopefully a few of you will go back and re-read this after the whole thing is said and done and will be like, yeah, that moves pretty quick. But anyway.


Some of you are wondering when this will end. I can't promise, but I think it will actually wrap when we're all in FFFOOORRKKKSS and those of you not counting down to that trip, that's 9/30-10/3/10. And I cannot tell you how fuckawesome it will be to be with a bunch of you when this story ends. Like uberly, totally, phenomenally awesome.  We have about six chapters left (I say about, since every once in awhile an extra chapter gets written).


Those of you in on the Team Osa Bella FGB Edward Point of View outtake? I am very sorry that I haven't done that yet. I've got the choice to delay ending this (which will make Mr. Myg lose his shit, honestly) in order to take some time to write an EPOV, or to write the EPOV later, when this wraps. If you all have strong feelings either way, I am open to hearing them. Let me know in the comments! The only thing is, if you want the EPOV early, you won't have the whole story to choose from, but I can give you some ideas of what chapters would make for good reads from Edward's point of view.


Anyway, when we last left Osa Bella, we found out that Carlisle was pretty pissed at Jake for staking out the Cullen house, so he called in some reinforcements, just in case. And then we learned, again, that Charlie Swan KICKS SERIOUS ASS. He, of course, already knew about the Cullens, and once he was convinced of the nature of Edward's character, he just dealt with the fact that his daughter was marrying a vampire, because she is thirty, god damn it, and she can marry who she wants. It doesn't change anything. She will always be his daughter.


And this is truth. Charlie Swan is modeled after SM's Charlie, yes, but mostly he's modeled after my own dear Papa Myg. He did teach me to drive when I was 13, and if I went to him and said, "Dad, Mr. Myg is really a vampire. A good vampire, but still, he's a vampire," he'd probably give me a long hard look and go, "Sometimes I don't understand you, Myg, but no matter what, you're my daughter and I've got your back."


Here's your .pdf, ficsters.


See you all in the comments.


Love,
Myg

CHAPTER 28

Graduation

Edward and I returned to my little house on K Street. I gathered the important things. Papers. Photos. My wedding album.  My diaries going all the way back to sixth grade. These I put into a box that would go to the house in Kalaloch until we returned. I put my favorite band t-shirts, shoes, jeans, and sweaters into a large duffle bag. These I'd take with me. When he was in the other room I hid my vintage yard sale prom dress all the way at the bottom of the bag. This I'd wear for our wedding.

Edward went around the house, locking windows, emptying the refrigerator, and taking out the garbage. I sat on my bed and pulled a pillow into my chest, thinking. Thanks for holding me these last few years, I said silently to the house. You were a great little nest but I'm happy to tell you, I'm not going to miss you.

I changed into my black power suit. This was the one I wore when I needed to kick ass. It was the suit that told the world, don't fuck with her. First impressions go a long way, I thought, even with someone who knew me as well as Jake. He needed to know I meant business tonight and would suffer no bullshit.

Edward came into my bedroom as I was looking in the mirror fixing my hair. He walked up and kissed the back of my neck. "I hate to say this, but you should take that off," he said, looking at my engagement ring. "At least until after graduation."

"I hate this whole hiding thing."

"I'm sorry, Bella. It's just how it is. Wear this instead, okay?" He picked up the bear fetish from my dresser and fastened it around my neck. I took my ring off and then held it gently, admiring it for a minute before slipping it into my pocket.

"We're going to need a bigger house," I said.

He smiled. "I'll build you any house you can dream of."

"I want a big storybook house with secret passages and crooked staircases and hidden rooms. A house you can get lost in."

"Consider it done. Now you just have to tell me where."

"By the sea, somewhere Charlie can drive to see me within a day."

"Sounds perfect."

I turned around and kissed him. "I love you," I said.

"I love you, too."

"Edward, I'm nervous."

"I know you are, sweetheart," he said, pulling me close. "What do you think? Should we run? Say the word and I'll take you to Reckoner right now."

"You would do that for me?"

"I would do anything for you. You know that."

"Even defy Carlisle?"

"Yes of course," he said. "Bella, I'd defy heaven and hell for you."

"I don't want to run," I said, feeling calmer. As much as I dreaded facing Jake, I knew it would be much worse to avoid him. My history with him, with his family, made me feel as though I owed him that much. "Running won't resolve anything."

"I agree," Edward said, and leaned in to give me a soft kiss. I kept my face close to his, my eyes half closed as I let myself linger, taking in his scent.

"I love when you kiss me," I said. "It makes me forget the whole world."

"I love kissing you." He lifted me up and sat me on the dresser. Then he kissed me again, very gently on the lips, and then again, first the upper lip, then the lower, then slipping his tongue into my mouth as my lips parted. We kissed like that for minutes, disappearing inside the space a good kiss makes. "You are the whole world to me, Bella," he said. "Never forget that."

#

The first person I saw at graduation was Red, chatting with my father on the edge of the parking lot. I looked briefly toward the school roof, where Edward stayed out of sight.

"Don't know how you did it, Chief," Red was saying, "but I knew you'd get a handle on the bears. I'm just glad you got it under control before today. Makes my life much easier."

"They shouldn't be a problem now," Charlie said.

"Looking sharp, Miss Swan," Red said as I approached them. Charlie nodded in approval and gave me a small smile.

"Thanks for being a great boss," I said to Red, shaking his hand. "I'll miss you."

Red put his arm around me and gave me a friendly squeeze around the shoulders. "I'll miss you too, Bella. Glad you came out. The kids are looking for you."

Over in the crowd of giddy seniors I saw Mike Newton, looking brighter, if subdued. Paige, Angela, Erik, and Jessica were all hanging out with him, talking animatedly, probably about whatever graduation party was planned for later in the evening. When they saw me they waved me over, and when I got there, Mike gave me a hug.

"I'm so glad you're here," I said to him.

"Me too," Mike said. "Thanks for being there for me these last four years, Miss Swan. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"It was my pleasure," I said, my eyes tearing up a little. I used to love my work with kids, but that all changed after I thought, incorrectly, that I'd fallen in love with one of them. Knowing the truth now was incredible relief, and I felt more relaxed around my students than I had all year. "You're a great human being, Mike Newton," I said. "I know you're going to do very well. Just trust yourself, you know? You've got a lot of important insight into things."

Mike looked at me curiously. "You really think so?"

"I know so. You pick up on things that the rest of us can't see. I want you to take very good care of yourself so you don't get depressed again. Will you do this?"

"I'll try," he said.

"You'd better," Paige said, squeezing his hand. So they'd finally gotten together. Good for them. The look on Jessica's face didn't register any kind of regret or jealousy. More relief, than anything.

"The Cullens are here," Angela said, looking at Mike for a reaction, who was more guarded than anything else.

Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett walked over to where we were, very casual, as though it was two weeks ago and nothing had changed between us. Alice was the bubbliest, as she usually was, but tonight as she strode over in her cap and gown, I started to really understand her sweet, quirky pixie-like personality. According to Edward, Alice had absolutely no recollection of her human life and had always felt some part of her was missing. She seemed to always stay a kid, but not in some immature way. She was just eternally young. Her vampire family certainly loved her—they must have to suffer through a full year of high school just to give her an experience she'd always wanted. "I loved English, art, gym, and the dances," Alice told us after it was all over. "But I have no need to ever do that again. High school pretty much stinks as much as you all said it would."

"Congratulations on your graduation, Alice," I said as she beamed at us. She gave me a quick hug.

"Thanks, Miss Swan," she said. "I'm really excited. You all have to sign my yearbook!" She handed it to me and I laughed as I considered what the hell I should write.

"How is Edward?" Paige asked.

"He's okay," Emmett said. "He says congratulations to everyone."

"What happened to him?" Mike asked, without a tinge of hostility. "Is he in Alaska now? That's what everybody is saying—he freaked out, too, and got sent away."

"He'll be all right," Jasper said.

"Tell him I said good luck," Paige said. "Hope he gets into Dartmouth someday."

"Tell him I said goodbye," Angela said. "Actually, can you give him my email address at Stanford? I want to stay in touch."

"Mine too," Erik said.

And so all of the Thoreau club kids took turns signing Alice's yearbook and wrote down their email addresses for the Cullens to give to Edward, even Mike. My heart swelled, thinking of how much the kids really did love Edward and then again as I recalled, now in the proper context, how generous he had been with his attention and patience with each of them.

"I hear Mr. Banner is going to move back to Portland," Mike said sadly.

"I hadn't heard that," I said, feeling my stomach knot with guilt. "I've been out of town the last few days."

 "I still can't believe after studying the bears all year long he got attacked by one," Erik said. "It's so unfair."

"He's going to be okay," Alice said. I was very relieved to hear this. "He's going to love Portland."

"He's from there," I said.

"This place just won't be the same without you and Mr. Banner," Paige said. "I guess that's the end of the Thoreau Club for good."

"Maybe another teacher will pick it up," I said. "I still think it was a great idea."

"I loved it," Angela said. "Way better than French Club."

A sudden chill went through me, something carried on the air, though it wasn't a scent. More like an electric current.

"It's Jacob Black!" Mike said. "Did you know Jacob and the Quileute tribal elders were coming, Miss Swan?"

"Yes," I said, taming the pitch in my voice. "I heard about that."

"We're going to go line up with the class," Alice said, a slight nod to me, as if to say, stay cool, Bella. "See you after I'm a high school graduate!" And then the Cullens turned and walked away like they were on a red carpet, which was the way they always walked, now that I noticed it.

Jake crossed the parking lot to where we all stood chatting. As our eyes met I could feel every hair on my body bristling like a cat spying a pit bull.

"Congratulations," Jake said.

"Thanks for being here," Mike said, shaking Jake's hand. "That's great of you guys to come."

"Come out to La Push this summer and we'll talk," Jake said. "We've got a specialist in indigenous dialects coming to talk to us about the Ani Tsa gu hi."

"I'd love that," Mike said. "Very cool."

It had seemed like such a good idea at the time to help Jake find the post-doc, someone who might be able to speak with the old man out at La Push. But now that I knew Jake might be able to communicate with the bears and learn about Edward killing the kermode, or Jasper killing one of their tribe, I worried.

"Hello, Miss Swan." Jake's voice was guarded, even as he smiled at me.

"Hey, Mr. Black," I said, trying to keep my tone light. "Thanks for coming to see the young Thoreauvians do the pomp and circumstance."

"I'm sorry about Mr. Banner," Jake said, turning his attention back to the kids. "I hope he's going to be okay."

"Me too," Erik said. "He's my favorite teacher."

At that point, Red walked over and corralled the kids back into line to get ready to begin the processional.

"Miss Swan, time to get started."

"Be right there," I said as the kids scampered off happily to join the rest of the graduating class. As soon as they were gone, Jake pulled me into a quick hug. "Are you okay?" he whispered in my ear.

"Of course," I said. I hugged him and then pushed away, cowering just a little as his eyes scoured me for any evidence of harm. "I'm perfectly fine. Better than fine. We'll talk all about it after the ceremony, okay?"

He nodded at me and over his shoulder I could see Carlisle, Esme, and Billy speaking, postures polite but guarded, voices in low tones. Carlisle looked over to where we stood and gave me the slightest acknowledgement. I half expected my phone to start buzzing in my pocket, but whatever Edward might be hearing, seeing or picking up telepathically wasn't enough for him to call. Good. Maybe this would go more easily than I thought.

"We'd like to honor Derek Banner as Forks High School's Teacher of the Year for the fifth year running," Red announced at the beginning of the speeches, right after all the seniors had walked into the auditorium and taken their seats. "For his dedication to the betterment of our students, for the extra effort he puts into every endeavor, and for his unwavering commitment to the Forks High School Community. This year's vote was unanimous. Most of us are aware of Mr. Banner's tragic incident with a bear this week. While he's recovering we send him our well wishes and prayers."

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat in the faculty section of the auditorium. I felt terrible and I know Edward did as well, because he'd managed to pick up all of the uncovered costs of his hospital stay, and then Carlisle made a few other phone calls and got Derek a bed at one of the premier physical rehabs in Portland.  Derek would leave Monday, and I would never see him again.

As valedictorian, Angela gave the speech on behalf of the seniors, a lovely reprisal of one of my favorite Thoreau Club debates.

"Classmates, we begin our adult lives during a time of great uncertainty. The world economy is in trouble. Our country is at war and has been for most of my childhood, and the very planet we live on is changing in ways we still don't understand. These are events that can color our future bleak and oppressive.

"Or I think we can choose to see these times, and ourselves, in a different light. We can open our minds and our hearts to the challenges before us and see them as doorways to new realities, futures where our aspirations, our dreams prevail. The challenges we face can break us, or they can transform us. Our hope lies in finding the opportunities that adversity presents, and in believing that at our core, we have the strength to evolve into the human beings we want to become."

I cried a little listening to Angela's speech, remembering the intense conversations about those ideas we'd had over the year. I felt gratified seeing the mark those discussions had made on her outlook, and my own. I fumbled in my pocket for a tissue and felt the engagement ring between my fingers and held it. And the tears stopped.

In the post-commencement high, there were a few more tears, more hugs to students and staff. And then I was pretty much done saying goodbye to Forks High School.

"Great speech," Edward sent as a text message. I knew he'd like it. He always liked Angela. I called him.

"I'm going to find Jacob and get this over with," I said. "Did you read his mind?"

"He's fucking with me," Edward said, irritated.

"What do you mean?"

"He spent the entire graduation picturing you naked."

"God, what an asshole."

"Exactly."

"Don't take the bait."

"I'm not," he said. "But it's not only infuriating, it's distracting as hell."

"Let me get this over with. I'll call you back, okay?"

"Okay," he said. "But I'm telling you right now, the next time I have Jacob Black away from human witnesses, I will be kicking his ass."

"Fine by me."

I walked out to the parking lot, over to the edge of the woods where Jake stood leering at me. I glared my most evil glare, which only caused him to smirk. Over by the picnic tables, the same tables where I'd had the strange encounter with Edward a week and a half before, Esme and Carlisle stood talking to Billy Black again. Carlisle gave me a nod.

"Are they settling the treaty then?" I asked Jake.

"No," he said. "Not until you and I talk, and I'm not talking to you where Edward can read my mind."

"He isn't here."

"Do you think I'm stupid, Bella? Really?"

"Shit." My phone buzzed again and I pulled it out of my bag.

"Put Jacob on," Edward said, and though I was reluctant, I did.

"I know who's out at your place," Jacob said. "But it doesn't matter, we still outnumber you… Well, your little gathering has drawn a lot of bears out in the last few days. I wouldn't doubt they'd be easily persuaded to rid the peninsula of you and all your kind."

"Please, Jake," I said. "Don't be a dick."

"The deal was I get to speak to her alone, without your interference. You agreed to that, right? Or are you afraid she'll come to her senses if you let her off her chain for a little while?"

"Stop it," I said, trying to grab the phone from him, and our slight altercation did not go unnoticed by Charlie, who walked quickly to where we stood. On seeing him, Jake handed me the phone.

"Don't be afraid of Jacob," Edward said. "He's just trying to manipulate you."

"I'm not afraid," I said. "But this is ridiculous."

"Is there a problem, Bella?" Charlie asked me, eyeing Jacob.

"No problem," Jake said. "We were just talking."

"I didn't ask you."

"No, Dad," I said, glaring at Jake. "But stick close by just in case."

"Since when do you let a guy tell you what to do?" Jake said, challenging me in front of my father.

"I'm not letting anyone tell me what to do," I said.

"Bullshit," Jake hissed, trying to keep his voice on the low side, but his anger fueled the heated delivery of his words. Carlisle gave us a sharp look and then I saw him answer his phone. Edward, no doubt. "The agreement was that you and I speak alone," Jake continued. "Until you come speak to me where Edward can't interfere, there's not going to be a treaty."

"Keep it down, Jake," Charlie said. "Or this discussion is going to be over."

"You have to re-establish a treaty," I said. "I don't want any problems between the Quileute and the Cullens, Jake. Not because of me."

"It's not about you, Bella," Jake said. "It's about them not keeping their word. Edward bit you and he broke the treaty. He isn't trustworthy. And now you're not being trustworthy either."

"That isn't true," I said.

"Why won't you come talk to me where he can't follow?"

"I don't want any trouble," I said.

"Who is going to give you trouble? Edward? The Cullens? Because if they do, I'll take care of them. Say the word."

"No, that isn't it."

"What is it?"

"I'm afraid you'll keep me from him."

"How am I going to do that? Please tell me, because if there's a way, I want to know what it is." I let out a big sigh and he took my hand in his.

"I need to check something." I took out my phone and called Edward.

"Here's the deal," Edward said. "Back at La Push, Sue, Leah, and Seth Clearwater are all waiting to talk to you with Jacob and Billy Black. They are staging an intervention." He paused, clearly annoyed. "They think your addicted to me."

"You're kidding," I said.

"Charlie doesn't know about it," Edward said. "They want to warn you about losing your eternal soul. And Jake wants to convince you to leave me for him. He's not going to agree to any treaty until he talks to you at La Push."

"Son of a bitch," I said. "I can't believe this." I gave Jake a dirty look. "Is he going to agree to a treaty if it doesn't work?"

"Yes," Jake said. "As long as I get the chance to make my case."

"He's telling the truth," Edward said. "I wish I could tell you he wasn't."

"Is he going to try to keep me against my will?" Jake rolled his eyes.

"He'd better not," Charlie said.

"No, not that I can tell," Edward said. "But if he does, he will be very, very sorry."

"What does Alice see?" I asked.

"She can't see anything," he said. "What does your gut tell you to do?"

"Run."

"Okay, I'll be right there."

"No, wait," I said, looking over to the place where Carlisle stood by Billy and Esme. Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie were near them but off to the side, watching as I mulled over what to do. "Why can't you just agree to a new treaty?" I asked Jake. "Why are you being so difficult?"

"I won't abide a treaty where their kind is seducing my people into their world under my nose, behind my back, that's why. For all I know they'll use us like a herd and feed my tribe to their party guests."

"That is such bullshit."

"How do I know that?" he said. "I never expected them to target you— especially when Edward knows how I feel about you."

One thing was certain. We needed to take the conversation out of the Forks High School Parking lot.

"What about all the bears at La Push?" I asked. "Derek just got attacked. What if they attack me, too?"

"Do you really think I'm going to let a bear anywhere near you on my reservation?" Jake said. "You are one of us and we are protecting them right now. They know they'd be hunted out of the area without us. They will never hurt you."

"It makes me nervous."

"You're a lot less safe around all those vampires out at the Cullens, trust me," he said.

"I'll go with you," Charlie said.

If a trip to La Push could put things right between the Cullens and the Quileute again, and if Edward hadn't read any devious intent in Jacob's mind, then there wasn't much reason to refuse. "I'm going to La Push," I said on the phone to Edward. "If you don't hear from me in an hour, come get me."

"He can't come on our land," Jacob said.

"He knows that will never stop me," Edward said.

#

Charlie drove me to La Push. The urge to tell him to turn the car around and forget this whole silly family meeting nonsense was nearly overwhelming, but I ignored it. I wouldn't be able to leave in peace with Edward without knowing that the Cullens were safe from the Quileute and that the Quileute were safe from the Cullens' vampire party. Jake wouldn't try anything stupid with Charlie there, and in my heart I didn't believe Jake would ever allow any harm to come to me. However angry or upset he was, he was still Jake. He was still one of my closest friends.

I got out of the car and walked towards the Black's porch, where the old Indian man was sitting. When he saw me he leapt over the railing and ran to me, more like a young athlete than an aging wanderer. Jake helped Billy out of his car and then jogged over to where we stood, surprised by the old man's behavior.

"He likes you, Bella," Billy said. "You haven't met him before, have you?"

"No, I haven't been here in months," I said. Something about the old guy made me soft. He felt like some old sage. The old man leaned his face close into mine and touched his forehead to my own, holding me by the shoulders. He lifted the bear fetish from my chest, holding it in his fingers and muttering something I could not comprehend. Jake gently pulled him away from me.

"That's enough, grandpa," Jake said.

"He's one of them, right?" I asked.

"Yes," Billy said. "An elder."

"He's got to be centuries old," Jake said. "He's phased back and now he can't or won't go back into bear form. We'll know a lot more tomorrow after Anna Marie gets here."

I shook his hand then, and he held it to his face, held his own weathered, wrinkled hand over it and smiled, tears in his eyes. Then he turned and hugged Jake and wandered off into the woods.

"Is that okay?" I asked. "Should we go find him?"

"He does that all the time."

"Let's get this over with," I said, waving to my extended Clearwater family, Sue, Leah and Seth, who waited on the porch. We all went into the house and sat around the Black's living room, quite a contrast from the Cullen's in its small size and with its well-worn, rustic furnishings. "First of all, I'm with Edward of my own free will. I have no idea how you expect me to prove it, but it's the truth."

"I don't believe he's controlling her," Charlie said.

Jake looked at Charlie and then back to me. "If he was enchanting you, you wouldn't have come here," Jake said. "I'll give you that."

"Well, you're not wearing your ring," Sue said. "Maybe that's a good sign."

"Ring?" Jake asked, raising his voice a little. "What ring?"

"You didn't tell Jake?" Sue asked.

"You're engaged?" Jake asked, his face beginning to turn red with anger. "Again? Already? Jesus, Bella, you don't waste any time. And I can't believe you didn't tell me—for the second time, too."

"I was going to tell you," I said, taking my engagement ring out of my pocket and slipping it on my finger. "I was waiting until we got here."

"You cannot marry Edward Cullen," Jake said. "No way."

"Yes, I can, and I will," I said.

"He's a fucking blood-sucking parasite," Jake yelled. "He has no soul, for Christ's sake!"

"That is such bullshit," I said, my face heating up with anger. "You don't know that, you can't say that."

"Everyone knows that," Leah said.

"Prove it," I said. "Prove that he has no soul. Better yet? Prove you do have one."

"Humans do not marry vampires," Billy said. "It's against the laws of nature. They are from darkness."

"No way are you marrying a fucking vampire," Jake said. "Charlie, you can't let her do this."

"The Cullens are not normal vampires," I argued. "They are not human predators. Your whole tribe knows this—you're just jealous and angry, Jake. I get it. But you know what? I am not going to be caught in the middle of your little personal crisis, okay?"

"Fuck you, Bella," Jake said, and then stormed out of the house. Charlie tensed but didn't say anything, and Billy gave me a stern look. The room fell quiet as everyone looked at me for some kind of response. But I had none.

"Bella, you can marry whoever you want," Charlie said.

"She's in over her head," Sue said. "That's all. It's not her fault."

"I'm not in over my head," I said. "You met Edward, you can see he's a loving, caring man."

"I've met the Cullens several times now," Charlie said. "They are what they are, and I don't like it. But I know one thing for certain. Ephraim Black wouldn't have cut any deals with them if they weren't worthy of it. Right, Billy?"

"I don't like it," Billy said.

"That's because Jake's in love with her and you don't want to see him hurt," Leah said.

"He should have told me," I said. "If he loved me, he sure didn't act like it."

"He thought it wasn't fair to you to be the mate of an alpha wolf," Billy said. "You'd always have to share him with the pack."

"He should have asked me," I said. "He had a lot of chances."

"I know that," Billy said.

"We all told him that," Seth said.

"All right, I'm going to go find him and talk to him," I said.

"He's in the garage," Billy said.

"How do you know?"

"That's where he always goes when he's upset."

I walked out the back door of the house towards the garage, but stopped to call Edward.

"How did it go?"

"He believes you're not controlling me, but he's not happy about the engagement."

"You didn't expect he would be, did you?"

"Not really. It just sucked."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I know you two are close."

"I'll be leaving here soon."

"Good. Come home so I can hold you."

#

As I hung up, I heard a sound and turned. The old man was back, his face full of light, full of peace. He looked so happy that I wished I could ask him why. The closer he came to me, the more I felt it myself. I smiled at him, a warmth spreading from my heart out to my extremities as he drew near. He took me by the hand and spun me around, like we were dancing. Then he began to laugh, exuberant in his delight, and I started to laugh too. He pulled me into another embrace, leaning his head over my own, my skull locked under his chin as his arms wrapped around my back. He pulled back from me and then I saw, over his shoulder, five bears emerge from the edge of the woods. The old man pat my hair and smiled again. I pulled out of his embrace and backed a few feet away as I saw the other bears approach us. 

"Jake?" I called, over my shoulder. "Jake! Bears!"

Then, grinning broadly, the old man phased into the most enormous bear I'd ever seen in my life. I turned to run to the garage, and saw Jake emerge from the door.

"Bella?" he said, his voice tense. "Bella run!"

Teeth grazed my back—the old man bear was grabbing me in his jaws. He lifted me right off the ground by my clothes and the fabric began to give. For a moment I thought I'd fall right out of my pants, but I didn't. Then he began galloping towards the woods with me dangling from his jaws.

"Jake! Help me! Help me!"

Charlie ran out of the house and I saw him draw his weapon.

"Let her go!" Jake yelled and leaped into the air, phasing into the big red haired wolf. He chased us, but the bear raced into the forest as fast as a vampire might. I twisted and clawed and pounded with my fists, but I could not make the bear drop me.

He carried me deeper into the woods. I could hear more bears following us and Jake snarling, following closely but not catching us. The bear accelerated again, faster than I would have believed possible, even for supernatural beings. Jake fell behind and when we had finally lost him, the bear dropped me.

I tried to get up and run, but he bent over me and pressed his paw gently to my throat, pinning me to the ground. I flailed as he held me there, but he didn't let up. He pressed harder and I began to get lightheaded, feeling the weight of him over me, the darkness encasing me, the smell of his fur, ancient earth. 

Then it all went black.

Osa Bella - Chapter 27 "Bella of Forks" [Twilight FanFiction]

FFFOOOORRRKKKSSS!!!! Oh wait, wrong post!


Here's Chapter 27, you guys. I am sorry it was so late, and I can tell you it was Mr. Myg's fault, getting that intestinal virus on our anniversary weekend and I had to actually, jesus mother fucking hamster fucker, be a single parent to twin toddler monkey boys during that time and had no time to write. And then, and then? Instead of getting the porn star treatment in celebration of 8 years of holy wedded bliss, I, um, looked at a lot of tasty pr0n on the internet. Sorry about that.


But now here it is. Chapter 27 of Osa Bella.


As you might recall, in Chapter 26 there was some, well, getting to know you kinds of things happening there, and there may or may not have been a very graphic description of a blow job and then a lot of conversation that Edward and Bella had to have before, oh yes he did, he got down on bended knee before her,  and she said, "Yes. Definitely yes. Yes."


"You have to let me ask you first," he said.


She was pretty excited, as you can imagine.


Anyway, that was all very sweet and I hope you enjoyed some quality time with Edward and Bella, but now you know, there's an angry wolf and some other things that need to be dealt with, and so we're off the boat now.

In this chapter there's a song by the Whigs. This is it:

Here's your .pdf.


Oh, and yes, if you're new here? You can start reading Osa Bella from the beginning here at fanfiction.net or you can go to osabella.mygdala.com and download all the pdfs. And also? There's a bunch of other related OB content there, including playlists, streaming mp3s, some of my commentary, and yadda yadda. Fun stuff.


See you in the comments, h00kers.


ilyxo,
Myg

CHAPTER 27

Bella of Forks

More like a ghost ship than an antique monohull, Reckoner carried us back to Port Angeles in record time. It helped that Edward sailed us through the night, once he'd finally convinced me to sleep. I hadn't wanted to leave him, not even for a moment, so I stayed naked and curled in his lap a good long while. I knew without sleep my mania would probably progress again, so eventually I let him hypnotize me, and when I woke it was light and he was tying Reckoner down at the dock.

It wasn't without a serious ache in my gut that I left her there, and I recall giving a sad, heavy sigh as I glanced over my shoulder one last time as we walked away, watching her sway a little in the confines of her slip. "Be careful out there," she seemed to say to me. "Hurry home."

"I'll never be far," Edward said, reading my reluctance, if not my thoughts as he put a reassuring arm around my shoulders.

"Do you think there's going to be a problem if the Quileute find out that Jasper killed a bear last summer? Or that you killed the Kermode?" I asked.

"Jasper didn't know the bear was a shape shifter until it was too late," he said. "And I was defending you, and then it was a matter of self-defense. I tried very hard not to kill her."

"I know that," I said. "But I'm wondering how the Quileute will feel about it."

"Jacob would have done the same in my position."

"I'm sure you're right," I said. "I only hope it won't be a problem in terms of the treaty if it comes up."

"Me too."

As we approached the Vanquish, I went toward the passenger side door, but Edward pulled me around the car by my shoulders and opened the driver's side and dangled the key.

"You're really letting me drive?" I asked.

"Of course," he said. "This is your car now. You can drive it whenever you want."

"No way."

"What? Is it too much car for you?"

"Why are you giving me your favorite car?"

"Because you love it," he said.

That was Edward. Generous. And rich. Very, very rich. So rich, in fact, that the Cullens could be counted among the wealthiest families in the country, though their relatively understated lifestyle kept this information far from being obvious. Between Carlisle's three centuries of wealth accumulation and Alice's ability to see the future, they'd made their fortunes easily in the stock market. They owned homes all over the world. They even owned a small island off the coast of Rio De Janeiro. They did indulge in cars, and the Vanquish was just one of Edward's collection, though it was his very favorite.

I started the engine, thrilled by the low growl as I fed it a little gas.

“Go easy now,” he said, a slight edge creeping into his voice.

“What? You’re not nervous, are you?” I revved the engine.

“Nervous isn’t the word,” he said as I put the car in reverse and did a quick K turn.

“You’re safe with me, Cullen,” I said. “No worries.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about,” he said, shaking his head as I hit the gas and took off down the road.

We soared down the highway, back towards Forks. We planned to go to the Cullen house first, and then to see my father to tell him about our engagement and the truth about the Cullens. If I managed to get through that, the graduation meeting with Jake would be easy, at least by comparison. Maybe Jake would be heartbroken about my engagement to Edward, but then maybe he wouldn't. I wasn't convinced that Edward was right about Jacob's feelings for me, but I did want to tell Jake this time to his face that I'd gotten engaged—and I wanted to settle this treaty business.

Edward blasted the Whigs on the stereo, one of my favorite tracks from his mp3 collection, a loud guitar-heavy song with a good beat for driving. I became so absorbed in the feel of the car and the road, I stopped musing for awhile about how the rest of the day's events might go. I caught the smile on Edward's face as he watched me.

"You really know how to drive," he said.

"Charlie taught me when I was 13. Then he taught me all the cop driving techniques when I got my license."

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Yeah," I said. "But I love to drive, so he wanted to make sure I knew how to do it safely. It was our secret."

"Are you still feeling manic?" he asked. "Your reaction time is still accelerated."

"I know," I said. "But I don't actually feel manic now. I think the sleep has helped. And the sex. I'll be needing another dose of that soon."

"I think you have a prescription for that, right?"

"Yes, it falls under aerobic exercise."

"Maybe some of the effects of the venom are permanent," he said. "I wonder how else you've been affected."

"Hope I can still run fast," I said. "Just in case."

"You'd better not be needing to run fast," he said. "Or whatever is chasing you will be very sorry."

I reached over and put my hand on top of his and squeezed, and he kissed the back of it and then placed it firmly back on the wheel. "Both hands on here, okay?"

"Yes, dear."

#

On the way to the Cullen’s I drove by Derek’s place and I withered a little inside, turbulence from a mixture of regrets. I couldn't imagine how I'd ever even considered marrying Derek Banner. But what was worse was knowing that he lay broken in a hospital bed when he should be getting ready to attend the graduation ceremony tonight.

"I feel terrible about what happened to Derek," I said as we passed his place. "I hope he's going to be okay."

"Me too," Edward said.

#

The Cullen house was set back off the road with a long, twisting drive through the trees. It was a modern masterpiece of glass and light, overlooking the Sol Duc. This was the first time I'd seen it up close in the light. It could have easily been on the cover of Dwell with its bold architectural features and meticulously maintained grounds. I half expected to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s ghost appear out of the woods.

“Why don’t you live here?” I asked. “This place is stunning.”

“I do live here,” he said. “But sometimes you need privacy.” He smiled and I didn’t have to guess at the insinuation. I just didn't want to consider how often he'd availed himself of Kalaloch's privacy before this week.

As we pulled up to the garage I was surprised to see not just Edward's family, but about fifteen other vampires milling around. A few were out on the deck, chatting with Alice, but I could see through the tall glass windows several more guests in the house, talking to Esme and Rosalie. Now that I knew vampires existed, I could easily tell that's what they all were. There was a certain posture they each held, very straight and elegant, and every one of them beautiful in a way only actors and models appear in touched up photographs.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"Assorted friends and extended family," Edward said, his mood shifting to something much less casual.

"They must be here for Alice's graduation party," I mused. But the look on his face told me that there was more he wasn't saying. I put my hand on his arm to stop him before he got out of the car. "I want to know what's going on," I said.

"I'm not sure," he said, sounding a little tense. "From what I'm picking up, Carlisle wanted some kind of insurance against Jacob. I need to ask him about it."

Alice came over to us as soon as we parked. When I got out of the car and she grabbed my left hand and looked at the ring, and then threw her arms around me. "Congratulations!" she said. "I'm so happy for you both." She hugged and kissed Edward.

"Alice," Edward said, his voice strained. Her expression shifted to serious as he read the contents of her mind. "Where's Carlisle?"

"In the garden," she said. "There's been a slight change of plans."

"I figured as much," Edward said.

"What's happened?" I asked.

"Jacob was here when we got back," Alice said. "Carlisle was pretty angry."

"I'm sure," Edward said.

"He was here in wolf form, with the pack, waiting for the two of you to return. Carlisle told them you were away until today and then he called around to see what friends we could call in, just to be a show of support until we sort this all out with the Quileute."

"Has Jacob been back?" Edward asked.

"No," Alice said.

"You're not bringing all these vampires to graduation, are you?" I asked, suddenly horrified.

"Of course not," Alice said. "That would be insane."

Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper emerged from behind the house, trailed by a few guests who looked at me with a curiosity that put me on edge. I shrank a little into Edward's side and he put his arm around me.

"I see congratulations are in order," Carlisle said as they approached. Carlisle took my hand in his and gave me a light kiss on each cheek as Emmett and Jasper each shook Edward's hand. Then Carlisle embraced Edward and said, "I'm sorry this isn't exactly an engagement party."

A striking, tall strawberry-blonde woman looked at me and then at Edward and took note of the red in his eyes. "Edward, you're back to hunting humans? And engaged to one?"

"Tanya, this is Bella, my fiancée," he said, ignoring her question. "Bella, this is Tanya, an old friend of ours. She's from the Denali coven, another coven that embraces humanitarianism. We consider them family."

"Nice to meet you," I said. She nodded but looked at me as though she hoped I might flinch or back away, but I did not. From the amber color of her eyes, I understood that she wasn't a human hunter, but by the look in them I could tell something else. She didn't like me. At all. Which told me all I needed to know about her feelings for Edward.

"Let's go inside," Carlisle said. "I feel a storm coming."

In the house, Esme fussed over me and Edward and our engagement and Rosalie even gave me a quick, light but friendly squeeze and hardly snarled at Edward at all.  Then we all retired to the great room, a large space with a fireplace, tall windows and a grand piano, but little seating. The gray day was beginning to feel oppressive and the tenor of that assembly of guests made me nervous. There were, in all, twenty-two vampires in that space, including Edward and his family. As they all mulled over the news of our engagement, they studied me and I noticed the inner circle of Edward's family positioning themselves closer to where I stood.

"So you're engaged to a human?" said a vampire named Peter, an old friend of Jasper's whose eyes were red like Edward's. In fact, most of the vampires there had the red eyes of traditional predatory vampires. As I registered this information I went cold. "And the wolves are claiming she's one of them?"

"She's not one of them," Edward said.

"My family is very close with the Quileute," I said, steeling myself a little. "We have a long history with the Blacks."

"How can you possibly marry a human?" another member of the Denali coven, Garrett asked. "Aren't you worried about… complications?"

"I'm turning her tonight at sea," Edward said, surprising me, but I just smiled and nodded in assent. Whatever his reasoning was, I'd know it soon enough. "By our wedding day, she'll be one of us."

I expected some surprised looks from Rosalie, Alice or any of the Cullens, but they just nodded as well, like they were in on this plan all along.

"I need to say goodbye to my father first and settle the matter with the wolf pack," I said, impressing myself with my ability to play along so convincingly. Edward placed his hand in the small of my back, a subtle signal of reassurance.

"You're giving up a mortal life for him?" Tanya asked. "And your chances for heaven?"

I wondered at the directness of Tanya's question. Maybe immortality had a way of stripping one of the normal human social conventions that might suggest a more tactful approach to getting to know a stranger. But her tone was not spiteful. She was curious. I could tell she genuinely cared for Edward, and it was hard to fault her for that.

"The only hell I'm afraid of is life without him," I said.

"She really is the one then?" Tanya said to Edward, a softer look about her now. So she knew about Alice's vision of us together, too. I wondered how many of them did.

Edward put his arm around me and pulled me close. "Yes she is," he said, kissing the top of my head.

"No doubt about it," Alice said.

"We really should be celebrating, right?" Esme said, trying to lighten the mood. "Alice is graduating from high school for the first time ever. Edward has finally found his mate. After this business is settled with the Quileute, I do think we should celebrate."

"Then we can send her off to her transition on a good note," Tanya said, now more friendly, if more resigned. "Welcome to the family, Bella."

"Thank you," I said.

Edward squeezed my hand. Then he changed the subject. "Carlisle, where do things stand with the Quileute now?" Edward said.

"We meet this evening at the graduation ceremony and settle the new treaty," Carlisle said. "It shouldn't be too complicated, since we want to keep the same terms. We don't allow for the hunting or turning of humans in our territory, we stay off their land, we don't expose each other to the human population. I spoke with Billy Black yesterday and he said that Jacob still wants to speak with Bella to ensure her safety and to make certain that she's with you of her own free will. Then he says Jacob will abide by a new treaty. His first priority is the protection of the Quileute, and the tribal elders want peace. That's what we offer."

"What will happen tonight when Edward turns Bella then?" Peter asked.

"They won't be in our territory," Carlisle said. "They'll be at sea."

"Can we trust Jacob?" Edward asked.

"I hope so," Carlisle said. "But as you can see, we've got support here, just in case."

"Good," Edward said.

"I don't want any fighting," I said, my heart rate speeding enough so that it drew attention from the vampires, who could probably not just hear it, but catch the scent of my blood as it pumped quickly now through my arteries. "Jacob is like family to me. Billy Black is my father's best friend since before I was born and Sue Clearwater is going to be my step-mother. Please, I don't want any violence."

"Nobody wants violence," Edward said.

"Our guests are here to just serve as a reminder to Jacob that we have friends in the world," Carlisle said. "That's all."

"I can't stand the taste of wolves, anyway," Tanya said, giving me a friendly smile.

"Ugh, me either," Rosalie said, "I'd rather eat a rabid wildebeest."

Alice laughed and Edward excused himself and went upstairs, put in a pair of contact lenses to cover the red in his eyes, and donned a sport coat and a tie. As we were about to leave for my father's, Esme straightened him out, pulling a loose thread from the sleeve of his jacket and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You'll do fine," she said. "Don't be so nervous."

"You're nervous? What about?"

"Talking to your father," he said. "When was he here, Carlisle?"

"Dad was here?" I asked, feeling my stomach drop to my knees. "With all these vampires?"

"He dropped by on Thursday morning before they arrived," Carlisle said. "He was looking for you."

"Oh no," I said. "What happened?"

"I explained to him that you were out sailing in the San Juans with Edward and that you'd be back today. And then we talked about fishing in the Sol Duc for awhile."

"That was it?"

"He already knew about us, Bella," Carlisle said. "He's engaged to a Quileute. And I think your father could get the secret of creation from the gods if he wanted to."

"He wasn't afraid?"

"He was concerned, but I told him Edward had a lot of experience on the water."

"I mean about the vampire part."

"Perplexed, really. That's how I read him. Interesting man, your father."

"That's one word for him," I said.

As we left, I took one last look at the crowd of vampires and I felt hollow. It should have been a family reunion. A graduation party. An engagement party, even. But  instead it felt like an arms race. I now understood how the tension between the Cullens and Jacob Black had intensified over the past year, and how my relationship with Edward was a flashpoint for this volatile chemistry. It was incidental in the end, really, to the problem as whole, like the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at the start of World War I. I knew a single argument over a woman's affection could lead to battles fit for legends. But I didn't want to be Helen of Troy.

#

Edward drove, since I was too busy brooding. Once we were in the car on my way to my father, I said, "I am really frightened there is going to be some kind of vampire-werewolf war. I can't take that."

"Nobody wants a war, Bella, least of all me. I don't intend to waste any time fighting when I should be sailing you to Maui."

"What was that about changing me tonight?"

Edward explained, "Humans are not supposed to know about the existence of vampires." This was more of a cultural norm, though some considered it a hard law. There was a ruling class of vampires in Italy, some group calling themselves The Volturi, like they were The Avengers or The Justice League for vampires. Carlisle once, long ago, had been a member of this ruling elite and it would not be a good thing for them to find out about my human status. That was why he told everyone I would be changed.

"You're a pretty good liar," I said, impressed.

"Comes with the territory," he said. "Anyway, after tonight we won't be seeing anyone for awhile. You can take all the time you want to consider transforming into a vampire, and if you decide to never want to turn, we can always stay hidden."

"That would kind of suck."

"A life of secrecy is the life of a vampire, Bella. You're going to have to get used to it. I'm sorry."

"I know," I said, taking his hand and holding it gently. "I'm trying."

#

When we pulled into Charlie's driveway, Edward leapt out of the car, opened my door for me, walked me up to the porch, where Sue and Charlie stood. Sue looked skeptically at Edward, but gave me a small, concerned smile and Charlie waited for us with crossed arms and a tight jaw. As defensive a posture it was, the softness around his eyes told me how relieved he was to see me. And I couldn't have felt more relieved to see him.

"Hi Dad," I said coming up the stairs. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, great," I said. "Edward and I are engaged."

Charlie exhaled slowly and gave me another squeeze before letting go. He looked me squarely in the eye, like he was trying to read me. "Already?" he asked.

"Yes, already," I said. "It's a long story, but I am very happy."

Sue bit her lip nervously, wrung her hands a little and Edward subtly moved away, as though he sensed he might be offending her in some way. I know Sue wanted to say something, most likely about Jacob, but I appreciated her restraint.

"Chief Swan, if I could, I'd appreciate a word with you," Edward said.

"In a minute, Edward," he said.

"Actually, I need to talk to Dad alone," I said.

"Of course," Edward said.

Charlie and I went for a walk and I told him everything. I explained how I first met Edward, and how ever since I'd met him I felt alive again, had hope in the world again. I told him my deep shame over thinking I'd fallen for a teenaged boy. Then I explained how I got engaged to Derek as a way to keep myself away from Edward, but how my heart kept leading me back to him. Then I told him the big awful truth about my accidental almost-suicide when I believed Derek was going to expose me, and how Edward had discovered me and bitten me as I was dying in order to save me, and also how he withdrew the venom from me so that I wouldn't turn into a vampire. And then I figured that was enough of the truth. No reason for him to worry Edward might accidentally kill me someday.

Charlie furrowed his brow and a screwed up his mouth as I poured my heart out to him, and then I finally pulled my collar back and showed him the bite mark on my neck and he flinched, just a little, at the sight of it. He pulled me into his arms again and held me tight.

"You could have told me, Bella. You didn't have to go through all that alone."

"I know that now, Dad. I swear, I wish I had."

And then I showed him the ring, and all he said was, "Are you sure?"

"I'm certain beyond all doubt."

"Okay," he said. "You know Jake is going to have a real tough time with this."

"He had plenty of chances," I said.

"I know," he said. "That's what I told him."

So when we returned, I had a puffy post-crying face and Edward's face softened with concern. And so then we all sat down, Sue and Edward again regarding each other politely, but very distantly, almost as though they repulsed one another but were too kind to be openly revolted. It was a response that over the hour we were there seemed to lessen as they grew a bit more comfortable in each others' presence.

"Chief Swan, Mrs. Clearwater, I have asked Bella to marry me, and she has done me the great honor of accepting. I know how important your relationship is to her, and I would hope that in time you could come to accept me as her husband, even as unusual a circumstance as this is."

And so Edward began his campaign, and told Charlie that he knew how odd it must be to have his daughter paired off with one of his kind, but that he did swear that he would keep me safe, and that he intended to give me the most normal, human life he could, under the circumstances. And then he said he knew this all seemed to be happening very quickly, but he assured him that his ultimate priority was my health and happiness, and that he swore to be a good, loving and protective husband, and that he would provide a financially comfortable life for me and that he did have a livelihood, that he was a trained doctor and that he would most likely go into practice after we decided where we would settle, probably not near Forks because of the social implications, what with the town believing he was seventeen and not a vampire. And then he apologized for moving me away, but promised that he would fly me home to visit anytime, or fly him and Sue to us, and that he knew I was thirty and could marry whomever I wanted, and that he understood that no man would ever be good enough for me, and certainly not an undead one, but that it was still important to him that they could accept him as my husband, over time, since it was probably far fetched to ask for his blessing, not at this moment, anyway.

I was impressed that Charlie kept a straight, polite face on for most of Edward's monologue, almost as impressed as I was that Edward could talk for so long, so impassioned.

"Edward, I just want you to know one thing," Charlie said. "I don't care if you're a doctor, a vampire or an alien from outer space. You could be the devil himself for all I care. If you hurt my daughter, I will come find you and make you regret your own existence. But if you make her happy? Then you'll have no problem from me."

"Thank you sir," he said. "I'll do my best."

"See that you do."

"Well that's settled then," I said. "One peace treaty down, one to go."

"The big graduation meeting, yes, I heard," Charlie said.  "It's a damned good thing Jacob got all those bears out of Forks before the ceremony this evening or I'd have to call in deputies from three counties."

"He did?"

"Yes, he's been corralling them out at La Push all week. I told him I didn't care what they were, if they kept harassing my town I'd tranquilize every last one and send them to the zoo."

Sue explained to us how in wolf form, Jake and his pack had more influence over the bears, "So they've been hunting them and then leading them back to the reservation. We've probably got close to forty out there now." She observed Edward for a reaction, and I could see that he grew stiff, perhaps unnerved, but I couldn't imagine Sue would know about Edward killing the Kermode if they had no means to speak between the tribes yet. Of course, this could very well change when Anna Marie Gladwell, the post-doc from the UW, arrived on Monday. But by then, Edward and I would be gone and a new treaty would be in place with the Quileute.

"We're leaving after graduation," I said.

"How long are you going to be gone for?"

"Awhile," I said and felt my heart shatter as his face fell. "Not forever. Plus we'll be flying you and Sue out to Maui for a wedding. Soon."

"Do you have to move so fast?" Sue asked.

"I want to," I said.

"Are you going to become one?" Sue asked, her eyes narrowing. "Are you going to become a vampire?"

"Will it matter?" I asked.

Charlie gave me a long, hard look. The kind of look any cop might exchange with his grown daughter if he disagreed with her but respected her at the same time.

"You'll always be my daughter," he said. "No matter what you are."