Pinned but Fluttering

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

My apologies for the lateness of this chapter. I've been ill and am still recovering from the very-much-too-busy semester I'm just finishing....

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I tore my eyes away from my clock, glancing up at Carlisle's tense face, then quickly at the other Cullens, one after the other.

“Jasper?” Carlisle asked tersely in a near whisper as Jasper straightened from his defensive crouching position.

Ah, yes. Jasper would be the one they'd look to for strategy after all his military experience – he must be the family tactician.

While a small part of my mind focused on the strategic conversation swirling around me, I tried to quell the galloping fear that grasped my heart and muddled my mind: “the pack” – whom I guessed must mean the Quileutes – being here meant one thing....

He would be here, too.

He was here.

Now.

Closing my eyes, I concentrated as hard as my weakened state allowed on not losing myself in the vicious memories. Through sheer willpower I forced my mind to focus on the present, not on the past and not on the fear that tried to swallow me whole.

Opening my eyes to the present scene, I saw Jasper looking meaningfully at Edward. “How many voices are you picking up?” Jasper asked him, his words low and quick.

Edward's beautiful brow furrowed as he concentrated. “It's difficult to tell; it seems that the Quileute shape-shifters communicate telepathically while in their wolf forms. Their minds are not truly independent in that form; their thoughts almost meld into a single collective thinking process. It's almost impossible to separate the thoughts of individuals from the group as a whole” he said slowly, his attention clearly divided between talking to us and listening intently to the Quileutes. “But I'd say at least eight of them, perhaps more.”

“Shit,” murmured Rosalie. She spun, facing Jasper. “What's the best plan?” she demanded.

“Kill 'em! Kill 'em all!” growled Emmett, keeping his voice low while remaining in his half-crouch, his eyes shifting between me and the window. He seemed more than ready to defend me to the bitter end, and I couldn't help smiling just a little at his older-brother protectiveness. Emmett was truly amazing.

The whole family was incredible, actually, in the way they were strategizing in order to protect me from my former friends and...family. If I could ever really call him “family,” that is....

“Wait,” Carlisle's quiet but firm voice interrupted my wayward thoughts. He spoke to his family, but his eyes darted among Emmett, Edward, and Jasper, as if he were warning them in particular. “We need to plan our approach to this situation with the utmost care. We must keep this confrontation from becoming violent, or lives could be lost on both sides.”

My gasp was almost silent, but every Cullen turned to face me as my hands flew to my mouth in shock. Carlisle just warned, “Lives could be lost on both sides.”

The panic I was trying to keep at bay was returning. I knew that I could not allow the Cullens to be injured or killed for me. And Carlisle's warning illustrated something I had not considered to be even possible: these wolves could injure or even destroy vampires, something I did not think was possible...until now.

My glance flickered to each Cullen in turn. Rosalie, haughtily beautiful as she waited for the plans to be finalized. Emmett, still growling and ready for action at a moment's notice. Jasper, the careful tactician, considering the pros and cons of each approach. Alice, seemingly delicate but wearing a ferocious expression so unlike her pixie-self. Esme, protective and motherly, yet emitting a faint but steady growl of anger. Carlisle, obviously torn between his hatred of violence and his desire to defend me at any cost, even if it meant a loss to his family.