Love Bite

Chapter 32

I DO NOT OWN CHARACTER OR TWILIGHT

The next two days were spent effectively getting to know everyone. Bella found most of their new allies to be quite antisocial, but if she could talk to them on their own, they were much more likely to be sociable. Carlisle explained this was because vampires weren't exactly pack creatures. The Cullen coven was one of the largest ones known besides the Volturi, and these nomadic vampires preferred to keep to themselves, despite their loyalty to their friends. They didn't stay inside the house, and most of them had to go elsewhere to hunt, out of respect for the Cullens' permanent residence in Forks.

And yes... They hunted humans.

It was a fact that burned Leah up inside and was difficult for Bella to come to terms with. If it weren't for Esme, Leah probably wouldn't have been able to stand all the red eyed vampires hanging around. To be honest, it was hard for Bella to be okay with it too.

But they didn't have much choice.

It helped that Alice explained most of the nomads targeted people that were less than moral themselves. The Denali sisters in particular liked to hunt rapists and pedophiles. Marshall and Garrett targeted violent men and women that could range anywhere from dangerous alcoholics to near psychopaths.

However... Some of the nomads weren't so picky. It seemed the general consensus was that hunting good humans was less than desirable, but if it came down to starving or not starving...

None of them were going to go hungry if they didn't have to. This was what made Leah burn when she looked at their red eyes, and it was only out of love for Bella and a grudging respect for the Cullens' lives that she did not shift and go snarling after every single red eyed vampire.

It probably helped that none of the nomads went after children, teens, or pregnant women; starving or not.

As it was, Leah spent a lot of time hanging around Esme, as if to remind herself that not all vampires were heartless bloodsucking murderers, which delighted Esme. Bella loved to watch Esme light up when Leah came around. The Cullen matron was truly a mother at heart, and getting to take care of the Quileute native brought her happiness.

Speaking of Quileutes...

Alice still had no idea when the wolves would come, or what they would do when they did. All she knew was that they were gathering en masse and hovering somewhere around the La Push reservation. She said two packs had joined Sam's and she also said that it couldn't be long before they mobilized with such a large gathering of human hunting vampires around.

Yes, the nomads knew there were werewolves in Forks, Washington. Yes, they knew the Cullens had had some trouble with them.

No, they didn't know that the Quileutes were practically gearing up for war.

And no, Bella still had no idea what Carlisle expected her to do when they came, and come they surely would. She still had no idea how to voluntarily activate her gift.

As it was they still had time, time that Carlisle, apparently, wanted to utilize experimenting with Bella, which is what they were doing on a fateful Wednesday afternoon. Bella was perched on the table with Carlisle standing before her, a knife in hand.

"Are you sure about this, Carlisle?" Alice asked worriedly, hovering off to the side, eyeing the knife warily.

"I'm not so sure this is a good idea, sweetheart," Esme added on Bella's other side, similarly staring at the knife Carlisle wielded.

"Both of you worry too much. She recovered from those werewolf wounds just fine," Rosalie waved them off, standing in Emmett's arms. They were both only here to watch out of curiosity. Edward was somewhere off with Tanya and her sisters, and Jasper was absent as usual, probably off somewhere with Garrett in the woods.