Love Bite

Chapter 37

I DO NOT OWN CHARACTER OR TWILIGHT

Trying to explain this surprising turn of events to everyone was only funny when Bella didn't actually have to do it. It was also as stupidly difficult and volatile as it sounded.

It had been a month and a few days since the night Jane came to them and she still grimaced at the memory of it.

They spent literally an hour just discussing how to go about it under bright moonlight. There was a lot of arguing and yelling, a lot of second guessing even doing it, and a very great deal of consideration on whether or not they should just kill Jane and be done with it.

Jane spent the whole time leaning against a tree and watching them blankly, unaffected by their discussion, while Omi stayed perched on Bella's hip and watched fireflies dance with curious eyes. Any time Bella even considered putting the immortal child down, the girl would cry and cling to her while everyone watched on in alarm, fearing the worst. Bella finally just consented to hold the peculiar little girl close and allow Omi to rest her head on her shoulder. Clinging to Bella seemed to be the only thing that comforted her, for some unfathomable reason.

There was a soft spot developing rapidly in Bella's heart for Omi, and for the life of her she couldn't seem to stop it. Alice seemed disconcerted by this and she hovered so closely that Bella was practically holding her lover on her other hip, which made a fond smile for Alice stay close to the corners of her mouth at all times.

Eventually they decided to let Alice and Edward do all the talking, as they were the calmest. Jane and Omi wouldn't be around of course, as odds were the nomads would slaughter them without even thinking about it.

When Bella finally managed to pry Omi off of her that night, she felt sick when she watched Jane grab her forcefully by the shoulder and begin to lead her away. Omi began to cry immediately but with Jane beside her she didn't dare do anything else.

"Don't you hurt her anymore, Jane. Don't you do it," Bella said to Jane's retreating form, unable to stop the intense protectiveness of Omi that welled up inside her.

"I'll hurt her as much as it takes, foolish girl," Jane replied apathetically without looking back.

Bella spoke before she could even realize what she was saying.

"If you hurt her, I'll kill you. I swear I'll kill you."

Jane had only let out a light scoff and just kept walking. Bella swallowed hard as she felt Alice's hand touch her shoulder soothingly. The two ex Volturi members disappeared into the gloom with Bella's declaration hanging behind them in the silence of the clearing.

"This is fucking crazy. And it's never going to work. We should have killed her when we had the chance," Emmett had said darkly, and his sentiments were exactly what everyone else shared.

They waited till next morning when things were slightly more peaceful to set about explaining all that had happened. When they did, chaos broke out. Despite Alice and Edward's best efforts, no one but Carlisle and Esme would even give them a chance to speak. The nomads were bellowing at them and each other within a matter of seconds. Many of them swore to hell and back that they would sooner leave than fight alongside a member of the Volturi, past included. Nearly all of them wouldn't even consider the idea that Jane was telling the truth, with or without Jasper and Edward's powers.

They had to explain the betrayal of the French just to get them to understand, at which point tempers rose at an alarming rate. Vampires were already volatile creatures, and solitary creatures at that. Putting them all together and under stressful conditions was a terrifying ordeal indeed.