The Phantom Wolf

Chapter 15 (Stubbornness)

*Pearls POV*

I perked my ears towards the vampires. 'Whatever this Volturi is, it sounds like bad news.' I listened in on the conversation that the Cullens were having amongst themselves, whilst the girl stroked my fur. She tensed up when the name was mentioned. She's nervous. 'I may not know her, but, I will do anything to keep her safe... This, is a weird feeling.'

*3rd Person POV*

"The wolves need to leave. The Volturi won't honour the truce we have." Carlisle stated.

"How long do we have Alice?" Jasper asked his mate.

"10 minutes." She replied with worry.

"Sam, you and your pack have done us a great service. But you need to leave now. If the Volturi sees you, they will start a fight. And I promise you, that you won't win." Carlisle remarked.

Sam huffed, but nodded his head. Turning around to lead his pack back to the reservation, he noticed that the new wolf made no move to follow.

'These Volturi sound problematic. I'm not leaving unless she comes with me.' Pearl thought, determination seeping into her words.

Whilst Pearls thoughts were shielded from the pack, the packs thoughts were not shielded from her. Not now that she had unintentionally opened the mind link.

'New guy. It's time to go.' Sam bellowed.

'Yeah. Come on dude.' Quil joined.

Pearl didn't respond. She wanted no part in whatever this was. 'I ain't gonna follow my sisters ex-fiancé. Even though I'm angry at her, I still have standards. And my loyalties lie with her over Sam. Plus, there's no way in hell I'm going back to the res anyway. Leah didn't want me there. There is no reason I should follow them. I'm staying here.' Pearl declared in her head silently. Her mind made up.

Before Sam could try again, Edward interrupted them.

"We don't have much time, your pack needs to leave, and it's pretty obvious that the silver wolf has no intention of leaving by his own will." Edward stated pretty matter of factly.

Sam growled at the intrusion before refocusing on the new comer. Watching him interact with the new born, he thought; 'That vampire is his imprint, he won't leave her willingly, especially if there is a potential threat to her. I know I wouldn't.' He paused, contemplating what could happen if he left the new guy here, or if he forced him to go with the pack. After debating for a few moments, Sam made his decision.

'Let's go!' Sam ordered his pack, minus the silver wolf.

'What about him?' Jared asked while pointing out Pearls form, which still lay inside the new born vampires arms.

'Leave him. He won't leave his imprint. And I won't force him.' Sam declared.

'And if he gets killed?' Jacob questioned.

Sam grimaced at the thought, but replied with confidence. 'If he has chosen to stay here, then the consequences of that action falls on him. We're playing no part in it.'

Sam took off into the trees. With the pack following closely behind. The shifters disappeared into the tree line, leaving Pearl behind with the vampire family, the new born and the human.

"They just left!" Rosalie exclaimed angrily. "What about this one!" She says, pointing at Pearl, who was still curled up next to the new born.

"Carlisle, we have less than 5 minutes." Alice said concerned.

Carlisle now directing his attention to the solo wolf, that was getting petted by the vampire he and his wife spared. Spoke firmly, "Listen to me, when the Volturi get here, they will kill you if they see you. You have to leave, for your own safety."

Pearl pulled away from the girls grasp and stood up. Towering over Carlisle, growling out a warning. Letting her mind open slightly, by deactivating her ability to hide it, she made it visible to the mind reader.

Pearl stated firmly, 'I am not leaving.'

Edward, looking worried, conveyed the message to his father.

Esme, now upset, pleaded with Pearl. "Please dear. This will not be a fight you can win. To stay, is a death sentence. Not only for you, but for everyone else here as well."

Carlisle added "The Volturi uphold the law for vampires, many laws were broken here today. They are coming to ensure, that everything was taken care of. You being here, will just add another law that has been broken to the list."

'What about her?' Pearl asked in her head, directing the question to the bronze haired vampire that stood next to the human, whilst referring to her new friend.

Edward paused, contemplating whether he should answer. Ultimately deciding that it was best to be honest he replied, "She may be in trouble, because of the new born army that she was apart of."

Pearl stood tall. Thinking over her options. She knew that she couldn't leave the red eyed vampire. Something was keeping her here. And besides, if the girl was going to be in danger why on earth would she leave... But then again, if Pearl stayed, would she really be doing more harm that good?

'Would I be able to run away with her? If I carried her perhaps?' Pearl asked the mind reader.

"If it was just you then maybe. But her scent is strong. If the Volturi catch a scent trail belonging to the new born army leaving this place, they'll follow it. I can't smell you at all. You'd be able to run and get away. But only alone. If you carried her, her scent would still lead them to you, especially because you don't seem to have a very strong scent of your own. You can leave safely." Looking over to the new born, Edward finished. "But she can't."

Pearl remained silent, desperately trying to think of a solution that would get both her and the girl out alive.

"1 minute!" Alice shouted frantically.

'I'll hide us both!' Pearl stated firmly,coming up with a solution, and with that, she launched herself on top of the young girl. Pushing her into the ground and laying down on top of her. The new born, was to surprised to make a move and just remained very still. Pearl concealed them both, using her vampire ability. Re-enforcing all of her shields so that they could remain hidden for as long as possible. Masking their minds and scents, ensuring that the two were completely undetectable. Turning them both invisible and removing them from the others sight.

'I've hidden prey I've killed like this before. Although I've never needed to hold it more than 5 minutes. This is the exact same thing. I've just got to be able to hold it for longer. That's it. That's all I have to do.' Pearl thought determined. Her thoughts now hidden from the mind reader.

Edward, confused by the declaration at first, was about to deny the possibility of that working, before he saw the wolf and new born disappear in front of his own eyes. Quickly sniffing the air, he discovered that both of their scents were completely gone. Like neither of them were ever here in the first place.

The Cullens were shocked at the spectacle they had just witnessed, but were unable to dwell on it, since four new vampires arrived at the clearing.

"Jane" Carlisle greeted politely.