Vengeance

Chapter Twenty Five

Chapter 25

Taking La Push

This chapter contains character death. You have been warned. 

Bella was shocked when she broke through the surface; the sun, normally shielded by a cloud cover, sat unmasked in the sky.  The rays of light poured upon her body, causing her skin to glitter and shine. She was momentarily stunned at the luminosity of her epidermis and gawked down at her arms as she turned them over, inspecting their radiance with awed wonder.  A chorus of giggles startled her, causing her to duck down so only the top of her head and eyes were visible, and scan the beach. 

The rare cloudless day had brought almost all the Quileute families out for a day at the beach.  Men and women lingered on the sand while their children frolicked through the surf, splashing each other with water and enjoying the warmth. 

As she continued to spy on the tribe, Bella’s eyes widened when she noticed Sam, Emily, Leah, and Seth underneath an umbrella a few yards from the water.  Their smiles and laughter sent a wave of rage through her.  How dare they sit and be merry after they helped kill her child?  A thick growl emanated from her chest, and, knowing there was no turning back, she proceeded forward.

She was halfway out of the water when the screaming started.  Every Quileute had been raised on the legend of the Cold One—a being who sparkled under the sun, with soulless red eyes.  Now, as the entire tribe saw Bella, their fear—instilled by the old legends—ignited a panic that swept across the beach.  Families began cradling their children and dashing towards their vehicles; some forgot their cars and climbed into those belonging to others.

Bella’s eyes had not left Sam and the others during the panic; she sneered internally as she saw them slowly advance in her direction, without Emily.  Sam led the way, his eyes focused on Bella, trailed by a shocked Seth, and a vicious-looking Leah.

“Bella,” Sam acknowledged her after stopping a good six yards away, and his face contorted to something that resembled anguish.  “What happened to you?”

“Sam,” Bella moaned, letting her voice waver so she’d sound more genuine.  This was her plan; to appear weak and helpless, a victim of vampire venom, until the very last moment.  “Look what they did to me; I didn’t want this!”

“What?” Leah scoffed and narrowed her eyes at Bella.  “Are you kidding?  This is what you wanted all along, to be a filthy maggot just like the rest of them.”

“No,” Bella hissed and had to bite back the venom that seeped through her lips.  The scents of the nearby humans were wafting towards her quickly, the aroma of their blood causing her to salivate.  “I mean, I thought that’s what I wanted.  I was wrong.”

“Too bad, so sad,” Leah spat and began to breathe deeply, feeling the change brewing within her.  She would think nothing of phasing and ripping Bella to shreds; she’d hated her ever since she’d broken Jacob’s heart.

“Leah!” Sam snapped at her, insisting she be quiet, and then turned back to his current dilemma.  “Bella, you can’t be here; you’re a Cullen, which means the treaty applies to you.”

“I know, Sam,” she sobbed, lowering her eyes.  “I wouldn’t have come here unless I had no other options.  I don’t know what to do.  I’m scared.”

Bella’s ruse was working better than she realized; across the beach, hidden in the tree line, Jacob was waiting in wolf form.  He had heard all the screaming, so he, and the others, had come running.  He was completely horrified to see Bella, now a lifeless bloodsucker, standing on the beach alone—and frightened.  This wasn’t what he anticipated from her change; he’d expected her to be savage and bloodthirsty, not the innocent girl he had been in love with.  Despite the duty he owed to his people, he couldn’t assuage the feelings that blossomed in his chest.  She was alive!