Chapter 29 - Encounters

BPOV

After Edward left I wallowed in guilt for a bit. It had been so painful to let Edward think of worst case scenarios and not tell him who I really was. He had seemed so afraid that my family was going to want to kill me and possibly him as well. I had been so close to admitting that I was the Volturri Princess. Instead I had comforted and reassured him as best I could, taking comfort in the knowledge that I would soon be in Volterra with him. As soon as he had left I had started regularly alternating between a decision to go to the supermarket, and a decision to visit Angela, to stop Alice from seeing me going to Volterra.

Eventually I got up and reminded Charlie that I would be leaving for Volterra that night. My private jet (Courtesy of Santiago) would be waiting for me at the Port Angeles airport for me. He nodded, unsurprised. He was used to this after my regular visits from Volterra every year. I soon left. I had presents to get everyone while they were away and Alice was distracted by the upcoming events. Hopefully I might even manage to surprise her a little.

I headed to the photo shop first and had a photo of the six of us, taken before the prom, enlarged and framed for my desk. I also had a photo of Edward and I together, dressed for prom, enlarged to a 70cm x 50cm size and framed. The photo showed Edward in his tux standing behind me in my prom dress with his arms wrapped around me as we stood in front of the camera. Our faces were inclined towards each other and we had matching expressions of love and adoration on our faces as we stared deep into each other's eyes.

Once the photos were done I headed to the Cullen house to put the photo in Edward's room. I was surprised to find that for once they'd actually locked the place up. But that didn't deter me, I just levitated myself up to Edward's third floor window and opened it. The irony of the situation didn't escape my notice. After the many times Edward had snuck into my bedroom via the window, it was quite funny to be reciprocating- I just wished that he was here to see it. Once I was inside I held up the framed photo in different places along the wall with my shield until I found the perfect spot. I hung it, standing back to admire it, a smile forming on my lips as the picture evoked happy memories of the prom.

I was satisfied that when Edward got home he would love his surprise. I had gotten things for the others as well. Arriving within the next week was a brand new yellow Porsche for Alice, and a grey Ducati motorbike for Jasper. I was planning on giving Rose some jewellery, a customised gaming computer system for Emmett, that I had designed myself, and a priceless early painting from my private collection for Carlisle and Esme- an original Rembrandt. For Edward I also had a second surprise.

I had brought Emmett's gaming system and the painting with me (I had had it shipped over a few weeks ago in anticipation) and I quickly installed Emmett's system in the games room. I decided to let Esme hang the painting herself since she would no doubt know the perfect place for it, so I simply levitated it over to a corner of the lounge room, still wrapped protectively from being shipping.

Once that was all complete I realised that I still had a lot of time left before I had to go home and get ready for my trip so I decided on visiting the meadow. I missed Edward so much already and he had only been gone for less than half a day. I was slightly consoled by the fact that I knew without a doubt that the day after tomorrow I would see him again- I just prayed that he wouldn't react badly when he realised why I was in Volterra.

I drove to the end of the road closest to the meadow, and then headed through the forest in the direction Edward had taken last time after anchoring a shield around my car. It took me a few hours before I finally broke through the trees and stepped into the meadow. It was a stark contrast to the few minutes it had taken Edward to carry me here the first time. I lay down in the centre, enjoying the peacefulness of it. I stayed in the meadow for a while, feeling closer to Edward there, before I realised that I needed to start heading back.

I was barely halfway back when my senses picked up on a nearby threat. I stopped and searched out with my shield and felt a vampire in my presence, only about fifty metres away. I quickly noted that I recognised the vampire. It was Laurent. I turned slowly to face him; wary yet curious. I had thought that he was in Denali learning to become a vegetarian. I t watched as he slowly advanced towards me. When he got closer I noticed that his eyes were red- not even a hint of gold in them, and they were dark with hunger. I didn't like where this was going. "Hello Laurent," I greeted him cautiously, "What brings you here? Are you visiting the Cullens?"

He continued approaching me, his face unreadable. "Actually Bella, I have left the Denali coven, and I'm here as a favour to Victoria." I froze. "You see, she wants to get revenge for Edward killing her mate, and she believes that the fairest way to do that is to kill you- a mate for a mate. I am here to scout out the situation for her so that she can find a way to get you to torture and kill you. Of course, we hadn't anticipated that the Cullens would be away today- that is a stroke of luck." He smiled; seemingly pleased with the situation we were in. Clearly he thought he had the upper hand- he was in for a rude awakening.

My eyes narrowed and I glared at him. "Unfortunately Laurent, Victoria is very much mistaken if she believes that Edward killed James. Edward didn't kill James- I did."

Laurent laughed in disbelief, and I began to get angry. "You obviously haven't been around vampires for very long if you think that you'd actually stand a chance at killing one," he observed. "You would never have been able to kill James- he was absolutely lethal. In fact, I'm even surprised that the Cullen family managed to do it."

I cocked an eyebrow at him, "I don't care what you believe Laurent, but what I said is the truth. I did kill James- singlehandedly. But don't let that stop Victoria from coming for me, I promised James that if she came after me I would make sure that she shared James' fate."

He looked at me with a mixture of disbelief and amusement. "Your confidence in the face of imminent death is admirable Bella, but pointless. I'm afraid that Victoria will not be getting her opportunity to torture you as she planned. Instead, she will be angry with me. You see, I am very hungry, and your scent is simply mouth-watering." He paused to take an appreciative sniff. "I can really see why James wanted you." He continued to advance, but I wasn't worried- my shield was secure. "Don't worry Bella. I will make this quick. Trust me, this is a much better option than allowing Victoria to get hold of you. Her plans included a much slower death for you." He was now only a few feet away.

I glared up at him. "Laurent, I'm going to give you one last chance to get away from me. If you don't I will kill you," I warned calmly.

He looked incredulous, "So brave Bella, even so close to death, and yet so weak and fragile, so...human," he observed. He leaned in towards my neck and I held perfectly still as his sharp teeth aimed for my jugular. They closed around my neck with an audible clack as my shield stopped him in his tracks. Laurent pulled back, stunned.

I smirked and my eyes narrowed. "On the contrary," I said; pushing out a shield and sending him reeling back a few paces. "I am far more powerful than you." My voice was still calm and controlled despite my outrage that he had just tried to eat me. I advanced on Laurent, watching as his eyes glimmered with fear and confusion. He had felt himself get pushed back, but as my shield was invisible to him he had no idea why. "If you hadn't tried to eat me I would have been content to let you go-I wouldn't even have minded you telling Victoria where I was," I explained, my annoyance colouring my tone. Then my voice turned fierce. "But I will not tolerate vampires who try to eat me." Realisation dawned in his eyes as I wrapped a shield around him and crushed him into pieces.

I pulled out my lighter and allowed the pieces of Laurent's body to catch fire. I waited patiently as it smouldered away, making sure that the fire didn't get out of control and that everything was burnt.

As I waited, I soon felt a number of large animals enter the range of my shield. They were about the size of bears, but they were the shape of wolves. They were heading towards me. It suddenly dawned on me that they must be wolf shape shifters from La Push, probably chasing Laurent's trail. I frowned. I didn't particularly want to reveal my gift to them- but they would inevitably be curious about why I was here next to the ashes of a burnt vampire.

I turned and waited for them to be in view, unhappy when I felt them all change direction so that they were all coming from different directions to surround me. I identified the largest one though and stood facing the direction he was approaching from. Soon a large black wolf came into view in front of me. On either side of me a russet wolf and a chocolate one approached, while I felt a fourth and fifth behind me. I smiled welcomingly at the black wolf. "Hello, I assume you are werewolves from La Push. Would you mind phasing back so that we can talk?" I always figured that the best defence was a good offense, and my knowledge of them would undoubtedly make them stop for a little bit.

Sure enough they all stopped in their tracks and appeared shocked and confused. I turned to look at the last two wolves- a pair of grey ones- one pale and one dark. They all appeared to be communicating together, and soon the large black one and the russet one disappeared back into the forest. My eyes widened when they soon returned wearing cut-off jeans. It was Sam and Jacob. "Wow Jake, I guess that explains why you grew so much," I commented. It was true, in the last few months he had grown so much that he now looked over twenty, instead of the fifteen year old he really was.

He frowned, confusion obvious in his features, but remained silent. Sam spoke up, "What are you doing here Bella, and how do you know what we are?" His voice was authoritative, but too demanding for my tastes.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Please Sam, you guys aren't the only shape shifters in the world- in fact there's a tribe in Africa that phase into lions." Their eyes widened at this, I was feeling quite pleased with being able to throw them off kilter. "I've studied quite a lot about mythical creatures like vampires, werewolves and shape shifters," I commented loftily.

"Then you know what the Cullens are?" Jacob asked, "How can you be around them when you know how dangerous they are?" he demanded, ignoring the scalding look he was receiving from Sam.

My stance changed. How dare Jacob insult my new family? I glared at him. "Jacob they are no more dangerous than you- probably less since young wolves are volatile," they both seemed to wince at that, and I took note of the fact that Jacob was currently trembling slightly. "They do not eat people and they certainly aren't monsters. I will be friends with whoever I choose," I said frostily, "They are the best friends I could ask for."

Jake's trembling got more pronounced. "You're calling those bloodsucking leeches your friends?" he asked angrily.

"Yes," I answered defiantly, "and you have no say in who I can and cannot have as a friend Jacob Black. Edward is my mate- it's a similar process to you guys imprinting," I could see recognition light in Sam's eyes at that, "He will be my partner forever and his family would never hurt me."

Apparently mentioning that Edward was my mate was the last straw. Jacob's trembling turned to shaking and he exploded into a wolf, jumping towards me. I stood my ground and wrapped a shield around him, freezing him in the air metres from me. I was so annoyed that I wasn't even bothered that I had just revealed my shield to even more people. "Jacob!" Sam roared, outrage and fear in his voice. His eyes soon turned to me in astonishment as he realised that I was the reason Jacob was frozen in the air mid leap.

I now had my eyes angrily trained on Jake. "Don't provoke me Jacob," I warned him, "I've already had to kill a vampire for trying to eat me this morning," I said, indicating the asked near my feet, "I don't want to have to kill a werewolf for the same reason- especially when we've grown up knowing each other. But if you can't control yourself you will force my hand. I make it a habit to kill mythical creatures who attack me." My warning was clear, and observing the other wolves, I noted with satisfaction that they had all taken my words to heart. Jake looked calmer, so I lowered him to the ground and released him. He sat there looking as remorseful as a wolf could.

"Did you really kill the vampire we were following?" Sam asked in astonishment.

I simply nodded. "As you can see I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I do ask that you do not reveal my ability to anyone else- just as I will not reveal your secret to anyone either." My tone brooked no arguments and Sam nodded in agreement, still staring in awe at the ashes. "Now I believe you have a treaty with the Cullens, and you came over the treaty line to follow this vampire," I indicated the ashes again, "While I'm sure it was not consciously done in the excitement, I would appreciate it if you would return to your land and stay there. I feel that you would not be as lenient towards the Cullens if they crossed over into your land." My reminder made him wince. "They are well within their rights to tear you apart for being here," I subtly reminded him, "Although I am certain that they wouldn't even contemplate it unless you were intending to attack first."

His face looked slightly ashamed as he thought about it. "I think it is time for us to go," he said quietly. "It was nice seeing you Bella," he said before heading off. The others all followed him and I soon felt him phase and lead the others back towards La Push.

I headed back to my car and drove home, annoyed that my quiet day had been ruined by the presence of a thirsty vampire and a pack of wolves. Charlie and I had an early dinner before I bid him goodbye and headed to the Port Angeles Airport. I didn't bother to pack anything since my tower had everything I would ever need.

I arrived at the airport and was quickly processed and entering my luxurious private Jet- a birthday present from Santiago and Alec a few years ago to make travelling to other countries more comfortable. As soon as I entered I was pulled into enthusiastic hugs from Alec and Santiago, who were of course piloting the jet. I was so happy to see them I nearly cried. I had desperately missed my family.

Once the hugs were finished I sat back on the comfortable leather sofa, turned on some music and pulled out a book while Alec and Santiago took off. When we were in the air they alternated spending time with me and piloting the plane so that I could catch up with them, but I eventually ate some food from the fully stocked miniature kitchen in my jet before heading for the bedroom and sleeping away the hours.

I woke up to find that there were only a few more hours until landing, and I spent most of them in the cockpit hearing stories about the mischief Demetri and Felix got up to because they were bored without me to guard.

I breathed a big sigh of relief as I entered Castle Volterra and was bombarded with ten excited vampires. After hugs and greetings were out of the way I spent the day catching up with all of them, telling them the latest news about the wolves and Laurent. When I mentioned that Victoria was after me Demetri hissed, "We're coming back with you to hunt her then, we are your guards and it is our responsibility."

Felix nodded in agreement, "Besides," he added, "We've been so bored without you here."

I grinned at him in amusement, "So I heard," I said dryly, running through the list of pranks I had heard that they had played on the rest of the family while I was gone. They received sour looks from everyone.

Despite my joy at seeing my family again, I couldn't help but be a little anxious about tomorrow's events- when the Cullens would be coming. At the moment, to deter Alice I was currently planning to invite Angela over to my house in Forks tomorrow for a sleepover, then changing my decision and going down to First Beach in La Push.

I got barely any sleep that night; I was so restless in my lonely bed up high in my tower, agonising over the coming day.

That morning I got dressed in clothes befitting a princess and made sure that the minds of every vampire in the castle was shielded against Edward's ability. When Gianna rang and said that the Cullens had arrived I made my way down to the throne room by a back way, followed by Felix and Demetri. I quickly found the Cullens, with my mental shield this time, and shrouding them as well. I stopped outside the back door and pressed my ear to it; anxious to hear what was going on.

I listened as Aro greeted them exuberantly. "Welcome to Castle Volterra!" he exclaimed.