Dangerously Beautiful • Carlisle Cullen

Chapter 15: Knowing the Unknown

The hospital room was eerily quiet as all of the vampires seemed to stand like statues, watching the rhythmic motions of Colette's breathing.

She had passed out, whether from shock or from whatever had happened to her, the family didn't know, but they honestly didn't care as long as she was alright.

Carlisle watched over her like a hawk. His concerned eyes never strayed from her form for very long. He wanted to know what had happened. Why she seemed to change and how his children seemed to know her, but he figured he would get answers one way or another.

The thought of la pace being a part of Colette brought him into a state of wonder, but also one of worry. La pace was not well known, only showing up when they are absolutely needed, a save the human race type of event. To Carlisle they were almost myths. He had only heard of them through Aro once during his time with the Volturi.

Aro talked of a type of reincarnation, finding lost souls, bringing them back, and saving them from damnation. People had talked about these figures who had seemed to vanish right before they got saved from being on the brink of death, or going down a dangerous road, one that would leave thousands, even millions dead.

Could someone truly be la pace and not know it? Carlisle thought to himself but glanced over to Edward who he knew had been keeping a lock on his thoughts.

"I don't think she knew. Not before now anyway." Edward said, looking in his father figures direction. "Come on guys! Keep us in the loop here!" Emmett complained. "Carlisle thinks he may know what Cole is, or well, was. I don't really know what you would call it." Edward thought aloud. "Then stop talking." Rosalie growled. Carlisle shot her a pointed glance and she piped down.

"What Edward was talking about was la pace. I've only heard stories through Aro. It is said to be a type of reincarnation, the same body coming back time and time again, though their minds are connected. They save lost souls." Carlisle stated still wondering how Cole could be one of these creatures. Was la pace actually a supernatural creature or just a phenomenon that happened throughout time?

"Lost souls?" Rosalie asked, taking offense to the term. "Yes, in a way, a lost soul can be thought of in many different scenarios. Caught between life and death-" Carlisle looked at Rosalie, "It could be a wanderer, someone who is looking for a purpose, a reason to live-" Carlisle looked over to Jasper, "Or it can even mean you have your future ahead of you, but you stray. Just enough to throw you off course, and you need that guiding hand to help push you in the right direction." Carlisle said, his eyes landing on Edward.

"You were all lost souls at one point or another. Colette or Etta as you remember her, she was la pace, possibly still is. She keeps the peace, not only between supernaturals and humans, but between the supernatural species as well."

A look of understanding came across Jasper's face and Edward nodded. "I think you may be right Jasper." "What about?" Carlisle asked, looking between the two. "She knew of the cold one's from the tribe. She fits in with them, and they have seemed to accept her. They don't tell their ancestry to just anyone I assume." Jasper said and Carlisle nodded. "At the time it was just childhood stories, but they were more real than stories." Edward told the pair. "So the mutts gave up our secret?" Rosalie asked, angry. "No, not intentionally. They just tell their history. They put us in it without naming us." Carlisle calmed her.

"So what does this mean for her?" Edward questioned. "I don't know. I don't know enough about them." Carlisle told his son.

After the conversation of the possible supernatural being in their midst, the family seemed to scatter around the room. Alice and Jasper seemed to merge into a corner, their heads brushed together in hushed whispers. Rosalie and Emmett had taken the two chairs by the door, though Rosalie practically sat on Emmett's lap as she snuggled into him, finding comfort after reliving her trauma. Edward and Esme had both sat in the opposite corner. Esme in the chair, Edward taking the floor at her feet, as she had handed him a book from her bag. And then there was Carlisle. He sat next to Colette's bed, her small, slightly warmer hand in his.

Carlisle worried about the few minutes after she woke up. Would she remember? Would she have no recollection? Would she again think they were crazy? Would she be alright? That was the biggest of his questions, just her overall health.

The seven vampires in the room looked over to Cole as heart beat slowly beat faster and stronger, meaning she was waking up. A squeeze to Carlisle's hand made his dead heart flutter and unbeknownst to him, made the rest of the family smile in hope as they saw the pure happiness on their coven leader's face.

Her eyes fluttered open, closing almost directly afterwards, a grown escaping her lips. Going to wipe her eyes, she realized one of her hands was occupied. Squinting her eyes open, she saw that Carlisle had her hand in his own, and her cheeks flushed pink. Deciding on not removing her hand, she wiped her eyes with the one hand, now able to look around. Glancing at Carlisle, then back at everyone else, Colette did something no one expected. Throwing her arms around Carlisle she pulled him into a hug, quiet sobs coming from her mouth. "I remember everything? Why?" She cried as she tried to pull herself impossibly close to the doctor, begging for the comfort and the answers she needed.

In that moment, Carlisle knew what it felt like to be completely helpless. He held his distraught mate in his arms, dealing with something he had practically only heard rumors about, and he could do absolutely nothing to help.

Wrapping her in his arms around her as much as he could, Carlisle purred. A noise made for calming down you mate. Thankfully it seemed to also work for humans as Cole's sobs turned into soft cries, then whimpers, and eventually hiccups.

Moving slightly in his arms, she laid her head on Carlisle's chest, but quickly removed her head, a look of shock on her face. "You don't have a heartbeat." Colette told him. "Unfortunately not. The venom stops the heart from beating." Carlisle told her.

Shaking her head, she looked Carlisle straight in the eye. "I have so many questions." She told him and he gently smiled. "I'm sure you do, but you need to rest. I promise I'll answer them all." Carlisle told her as he separated himself from her. "Putting her hand on his forearm, stopped him in his tracks. "Hmm." "I really don't want to be alone right now. I think some supernatural stories could do just the trick." Cole told him quietly, and he smiled. "Okay."

Looking at the others, Carlisle told them to go home, that he would explain all he could.

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About an hour or so later, Colette understood what it meant to be a vampire, and how they were changed. Though strange, there was a word she couldn't get out of her mind. He had used it a few times, always glancing at her, whether it was consciously or not, and it was bugging her.

"What's a mate?" She asked and Carlisle sucked in an unnecessary breath. "Uh, well, every one of our species has one. They aren't necessarily born in our lifetime, and sometimes we have to wait on them for centuries. They are described to be the other half of a person. Someone you feel safe with, that you would protect with your life, that makes eternity worth living." Carlisle told her, looking directly into her blue eyes. "It's me isn't it?" She asked in a small voice, her mind reeling, "I'm your mate." "Yes, you are." "All those times I felt like I was safe, that nothing could hurt me. I haven't felt like that in a long time. You're the reason." She said as a new found love for the man in front of her grew.

"Our counterparts usually feel the same way. I didn't know how it would affect a human to be honest." Carlisle told her, and she smiled, but worry started to bubble in her stomach. "Where do we go from here? Where does that leave this?" She asked, gesturing in between herself and Carlisle.

He smiled at her, his golden eyes captivating her for a moment. "Anywhere you want it to. I won't push you at all. We can strictly keep things platonic, or if you wanted, we could take things slow." Carlisle told her. "I don't have a lot of time left Carlisle." She said just as another round of coughing was expelled from her, proving her point. "I'll take what I can get. You Colette Swan are worth every second."

"I want to try." Cole told him, her eyes anywhere but him. "What?" "I want to try. I want this Carlisle. I have wasted too much time terrified." She said, her eyes connecting with his, a ferocity in them that he had never seen. "In that case, Colette Swan, would you allow me to court you?" Carlisle asked and she giggled. "Yes, I would love to."

A/N: So funny when I originally wrote this chapter, we we're celebrating 20K views. Here we are in 2023 celebrating 136k views. You guys are amazing and I could never thank you enough. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter.