The Swan Twins / Eclipse

Six

The house was dark and silent.

Elena and Bella had returned home after dark and since there were no lights on in the house they assumed Charlie must've gone to bed. Bella locked the door behind them and turned around towards the living room where they had heard movement.

"You know the Cullens could at least respect meal times." Charlie had woken up from his slumber at the sound of his daughters returning home.

"We were just with Jake." Bella shifted the mood with that one sentence.

"I was with Embry." Elena shrugged her jacket off of her shoulders and placed it on a nearby chair.

"Oh." Charlie was surprised. "Good." The conversation was interrupted by knocking at the front door. Bella was the closest so she turned and walked back before looking at Charlie for permission.

"I guess I'll just give you all some privacy then." Charlie had known who was at the door already seeing as both girls weren't with their significant others.

"Thanks dad." Elena had turned around and waited for Bella to open the front door.

"Do you understand how worried I've been?" Edward spoke to Bella as soon as she opened the door.

"We were perfectly safe." Bella defended herself and her sister. "Hey Jasper." She greeted the blonde who stood behind Edward.

"I almost broke the treaty to make sure." Elena could see Edward's eyes from behind her sister. They looked almost pitch black which was how they looked whenever any of their kind hadn't fed in a while.

"I know I smell like a dog. I'm sorry." Bella shed her jacket.

"No something's wrong." Edward made his way inside the doorway with Jasper following behind him. Edward quickly made a beeline for the upstairs.

"Jasper what is it?" Elena called softly not wanting her dad's attention to be brought back to them. Edward headed straight for Bella's room while Jasper went to Elena's.

"Jasper what's going on?" Elena asked more concerningly this time.

"Someone's been in here." His eyes darkened at the thought of another of his kind being able to get into the swan house undetected.

Elena and Bella were quickly taken to the Cullen household. Jasper and Emmett had taken point and left to follow the scent while Elena stayed with the rest of the Cullens.

"Who was it? Someone we know?" Carlisle had asked Edward.

"This stranger. I didn't recognize his scent." He answered trying to remember every scent he's ever come across.

"A nomad passing through?" Esme had stood next to Elena who was sitting down on their couch.

"A passerby wouldn't have left Charlie alive." Rosalie stated. She wasn't lying, there weren't many vampires on the same diet they were so human blood so easily accessible would've been taken.

"The scent disappeared about 5 miles south of the house." Jasper and Emmett had arrived home. Jasper immediately went to his mate's side and kissed her head.

"Someone's orchestrating this." Carlisle knew there was a danger coming.

"Victoria?" Bella asked looking around.

"I would have seen her decide." Alice had been watching the dangerous woman through visions whenever possible.

"What about the Volturi?" Elena suggested.

"I don't think it's the Volturi either. I've been watching Aro's decisions too." Alice gave a weak smile to her friend before facing her family.

"So we keep looking." Emmett crossed his arms.

"We'll also take turns guarding the girls at their house." Carlisle started forming a plan to try and keep them safe.

"Another protection detail?" Rosalie asked. She hadn't been happy to help with the first one and now she had to do it again.

"Rosalie." Carlisle scolded his daughter.

"No. She's right. You can't protect us, watch our dad and search for the intruder." Bella tried to reason with them and hopefully keep Rosalie on her good side.

"And for Victoria." Rosalie added.

"And keep yourselves fed." Elena placed her hand on top of Jasper's. She could see the darkness in everyone's eyes. They needed to hunt, and soon.

"We're not leaving you defenseless." Jasper spoke up tightening his grip on Elena.

"Well we're not gonna let you all starve." Elena argued.

"And plus we wouldn't be unprotected. We have.." Bella trailed off mid sentence. She knew Edward wasn't going to like what she had to say.

"What?" Edward asked.

"The wolves." Elena finished her sister's sentence.

"Definitely not." Edward growled remembering who they were talking about.

"Honestly Edward. They're our next best option." Elena knew what they were capable of.  If Edward was serious about wanting to keep the girls protected he would have to come to an understanding.

"I don't think it's a good idea love." Jasper wiped some hair out of Elena's face.

"You don't know them like we do." Elena shook her heads

"Werewolves are unpredictable and dangerous." Rosalie didn't like the idea of any of them being near someone she cared about.

"They're not all bad. Embry, who happens to be one, helped me out through my lowest point. As did Jacob. When you all left," Elena paused not wanting to overstep any boundaries but she knew she had to defend her friends. "When you left, they were there for us. Embry made sure I got out of bed on the worst days. He made sure I ate something so I could stay alive. After he shifted he abandoned me too. It hurt a lot. But once he explained what had happened we went right back to being friends again. Trust me when I say they wouldn't hurt us."

Everyone stayed silent listening to how the girl had felt when she was all alone. Technically she had her family but she really needed the love of her life and her friends. The Cullen family didn't need Jasper's power to know how Elena felt about them leaving, they could feel it in their non-beating hearts.