Red Moon ~ Chapter 17 ~ Back in Sherrill - Bella's POV

Chapter 17: Back in Sherrill

~Bella’s Point Of View~

I was pacing up and down in the room waiting for something. Like all my problems would magically vanish. I wasn’t any better than the past days; I was in the same panicked state as if the ground under my feet had disappeared and I was floating aimlessly until I saw my baby again. Two hands wrapped around my waist and I heard Edward’s soft voice.

“Bella, love, calm down, you’re making me dizzy with all the pacing. We will get her back, I promise with everything that is in me,” he said, trying to make me feel better.

“How can I calm down, Edward? Our baby is with these... these monsters and we didn’t have the chance to do anything!” I snapped back at him unnecessarily.

“Stop beating yourself up for that. Alice said they want them alive. They aren’t going to hurt them. If someone should worry about being hurt, it is not the kids. When I get my hands around Aro’s neck...” He growled through clenched teeth.

“And Jacob? What about Jacob? They have no reason to keep him alive! What would that do to our daughter Edward! And me for that matter! He is still my best friend! And Alice won’t have a clue if they do anything to him.” I was just spewing stuff at my husband and finally out of exhaustion collapsed in his embrace with my head against his chest.

“He knows how to protect himself, Bella. And you know why the wolves are on their way here. Because he’s fine. And they want to help us get them all back. And we WILL get them all back,” he said as he rubbed my back and kissed the top of my head soothing me.

“Bella, do you not know that I have grown to care about Jake as well and it would hurt me just as much as you and Renesmee? He is my friend too, ya know,” he whispered.

“But... Yeah... I know... but still...” I started to object.

“There is no but. We will save them. Now, let’s go downstairs. They will be here any moment.” Those golden eyes of his and that crooked grin won me over and we exited our room hand in hand.

‘But what if we don’t make it? I can’t live if anything happens to Renesmee, Edward,’ I whispered in my head, raising my shield so that he could hear me.

“Come with me, Bella.” He took my hand and before we went downstairs he pointed at Alem and Emma who were silently waiting in the living room.

“Do you know what both of them think? What they feel? They came here wanting the best for their child and they are living their worst nightmare. They are like you, Bella. At least we have faith in Alice’s visions. They barely know her. So, now you have to look sure for the future and content now. For them if for nothing else. You’ll see, I have Faith that all of this will be over soon,” Edward said with such love in his eyes for me, our daughter and our new friends as well.

I tried to smile at him when someone knocked on the door. In a matter of seconds, we were downstairs and Edward placed his hand on my shoulder pulling me closer to him while our living room was filling with the muscular Quileute boys. In less than two minutes, the room looked tiny and my family even tinier because the room was packed with Sam’s and Jake’s packs. Their smell wasn’t the most disturbing thing here, I had gotten used to it long ago, but the heat that was radiating from them was a little overbearing.

Under normal circumstances, I’d never stay with so many of them in a room. Carlisle was trying to put everything in order as the russet boys were chatting when Leah and Seth came to greet us.

“Hi, Bells,” Seth said and gave me a quick hug. “Sorry I wasn’t there earlier but with Jake missing and Leah in Alaska, I had to be Alpha and it is hard with all those new wolves, ya know,” he said and grinned.

“It’s okay Seth, after all, you’re just trying to work things out and I am so proud of you stepping up while Jake is gone. I know he would be too,” I answered smiling at him and realizing for once again how bad my acting skills really were. I mean I was so proud of Seth, but everything was NOT okay.

“I just came to say hi. I gotta go check on Jolie,” Leah said and walked away pleased to be a little further away from us. Jolie was the second wolf girl who had joined Jake’s pack and Leah was really happy she wasn’t the only girl weirdo anymore.

Jolie had dark almost black hair and soft brown eyes and russet skin like most kids from the Rez. There were also other new kids added to the pack but everyone preferred Sam’s because they could stay in the Reservation and have their Alpha close too. There were ten new wolves, but I could recognise only six of them. Mark, a boy with brown messy hair and hazel eyes, Dennis, a black haired boy with big brown eyes who he seemed twice as big as he had last time I saw him.  Seth and Leah’s cousin, Michael, who had really short brown hair. Alex and Nick, who were identical twins with light brown hair and grey eyes and then there was George, whom I had known from Forks’ High School but it turned out that his mother was Quileute and he had the lucky gene too.

The buzz of talks stopped suddenly when Sam asked everyone to stop in his Alpha voice. “Alright, everybody knows why we are here. The Italian bloodsuckers kidnapped our brother, Jacob, his imprint and another innocent person and we’re all here to help. It is time that we go and get our family,” he said quickly and there was a mixture of yeses and of courses from the overgrown boys and the two girls and Sam continued this time talking to Carlisle.

“The Volturi were many last time and I am sure their numbers have increased rather than dropped these past six years. We’ll need as much help as we can,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Of course, Sam, I know. I had been in contact with as many of them as I could, the Denali’s have already booked plane tickets and are coming here and so are my Irish friends and Benjamin and Tia from the Egyptian Coven,” he assured Sam.

“But this may be solved peacefully like the other time right?” Esme asked concerned.

“No, Esme, not this time. They crossed the line. Alice saw them killing us and they will do it for real as soon as they get the chance. This time, there will be a war. It is unavoidable unfortunately,” Carlisle declared sadly and sighed and many of the wolves agreed enthusiastically. Poor boys, they don’t know what this would mean. Half of them may never go back home and because it is their duty as werewolves, they don’t even care. They are proud to do it.

“I am afraid he’s right, Esme,” Sam agreed solemnly.

“Hm...” was all Esme said and afterwards was lost in her thoughts. As the wolves and my family made plans for beating the Volturi mercilessly, I was replaying the scene after our hunting trip six days ago...

* * * * *

 We were walking back home chatting with Alem and Emma. It was weird hunting with others; I had accepted long ago we weren’t the normal ones and not the rest of the vampires.

“So when are you going to know if you got the job in the newspaper?” Rose asked Alem.

“Probably, I’ll have an answer by the end of the weekend,” he said enthusiastically.

“Good luck then,” she said sincerely.

We were really close to the house when two things happened. Rosalie’s phone started ringing and Edward told us to go home and disappeared in the woods. Faster than the blink of an eye, I was at the front door with Alice waiting there and started talking as soon as I was next to her.

“I’m so sorry, Bella! So sorry! I should have called right away!” she said over and over again. I wished Edward was here to enlighten me about what was going on in Alice’s head because she was making no sense.

“You’re sorry for what, Alice?” I asked having no clue about what was going on.

“I didn’t do it on purpose, Bella, really!” she insisted.

“What, Alice, what?” I asked, fear overcoming me.

“The girls! I let them go out... and that vision. Agh! I didn’t mean to do it! I did not know!” she silently cried.

Esme thankfully came outside and was saddened when she saw me.

“Esme, can you help?” I asked her.

“Bella, Alice saw the Volturi taking the girls,” she said calmly but sternly.

“What?! And we?” I asked worried, shocked, horrified.

“We don’t. We’re dead. And Alice freaked out and didn’t realize it when the girls left to go hunting. And Nessie isn’t picking up her cell now.”

“What does this mean?” I asked as if my brain had stopped working when I barely heard Esme whisper, ‘And Nessie isn’t picking up her cell now.’

“We don’t know. I can’t see them now.” Alice was panicked beyond comprehension.

This is why Edward ran back in the forest! I realized slowly.

Without thinking about it, I turned around and ran back in the woods following the girls’ scent. They had gone to the tree house. But in the middle of the path, I caught another smell. I’d recognize it anywhere even if it had been six years. Jake... panic started building inside me when I saw a bronze haired head behind some trees bent over with his head in his hands and raking them through his hair roughly.

“Edward, please tell me they didn’t take them,” I said horrified of his impending answer.

He didn’t talk and just pulled me close to him. Shortly afterwards, the rest of our family was here and started searching around.

“Jacob was with them. His scent is really strong,” Jasper said. “He fought them... hard.”

“And where is he now?” I asked terrified at the possibility of finding his body behind one of these trees.

“They took him too,” Alice said simply. “I can’t see the girls or the Volturi which means he’s with them.”

“We have to go get them!” I said and tried to pull myself from Edward’s grip.

“They have left, Bella. They probably are in a plane already halfway to Volterra.” Jasper said and a wave of calmness took over me.

“Don’t, Jasper. Not now!” I screamed at him.

“You’re not thinking clearly, Bella, and your feelings affect me too, you know. You are not the only one who is hurting right now!” he choked out, which was so out of character for Jasper, the calm and strong one.

“But...Oh Jasper! I am so sorry! I wasn’t thinking!” I ran to my sweet brother-in-law and hugged him tightly and let his calming nature soothe us both.

* * * * *

And here I am now, not feeling any better than back then and no closer to getting my baby back with me and Edward. We had to do something soon or I was not sure if I could stand it any longer.

Ah, Nessie... baby...where are you? Are you okay? I love you!

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