Edward

“Werewolf? Werewolf?!”
“Alice, calm down.” My voice was a mere murmur that only Alice standing below Bella’s window could hear.
While Alice bounced about, rattled at me for not letting her come up just yet, I searched Bella’s face for an explanation.
The Quileute tribe, she’d said. But…I thought that their transformation into wolves was supposed to be extinct!
Bella read the confusion on my face with thoroughness. She always could see through me.
Well, almost always.
I needed to shut that memory out so I could concentrate on the problem at hand.
And if what Bella was saying was true, then werewolves were a gigantic problem.
“The Quileutes turn into wolves whenever there are vampires around. I don’t know if you probably remember-” She rushed through her explanation.
“I do.” I interrupted without thinking. “But there are- there were no vampires around,” I corrected myself with a grimace. Every word I uttered seemed to lead me directly back to the mistake I’d made. “for seven months.”
Bella’s chocolate brown eyes stared down at the floorboards. Her brow furrowed. Her rose pink lips pressed down but trembled slightly.
Something was not right. The mentioning of the absence of vampires for the past seven months did not provoke the exact reaction I had been anticipating from her. Unlike before when her voice had broken with emotion, now she appeared unable to move. As if frozen in place. Paralyzed under some dominating influence.
My tone was harsher than I intended but it was too late.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I demanded.
Alice’s ramblings abruptly ceased.
A heavy shudder escaped Bella’s lips. Her breathing intensified in that way that made it seem like she was about to faint.
Deliberately, I stretched out my arm, encircling it about her slender waist.
She didn’t close her eyes but raised them to encounter mine boldly.
“Victoria.”

“That’s it! You let me in NOW!” Alice’s normally delicate voice screeched.

“In a minute.” My lips murmured almost inaudibly.
Rich chestnut brown locks of floral scented hair draped over my shoulder.
“What?” Bella inquired in a small voice. Her head lay against my right shoulder, her hand clutched my left one as she steadied her teetering body. My arm was still wound about her waist.
“NOW, Edward!”
I tightened my lips in a straight line. But I couldn’t hide Alice anymore, despite the emotional pain that I believed her appearance would cause Bella.
Well, I had already caused the biggest half of the damage.
“Alice is here.” I murmured in Bella’s ear. “ She wants to come up.”
Bella raised her head slowly, her blurry eyes finding mine.
“Alice?”
I nodded once and a small white hand caressed Bella’s hair from behind.
Bella’s body stiffened.
“Bella.” Alice said gently.
For a second, Bella’s eyes closed. When she whirled around there were tears streaming down her cheeks.
I let my arm drop from around her waist, surrendering her into Alice’s waiting arms.