When The Cat Becomes The Mouse 29

“Why isn’t she in bed?” Victoria asked as she entered the living room seeing Bella stretched out on top of Rosalie sleeping. It was well after midnight and Victoria had expected the human to be in bed not on the couch with Rosalie.Victoria had made sure to go as far as she could to hunt so she wouldn’t cause any problems for the Denali but not far enough away that she couldn’t make it back quickly incase something happened. Victoria was still upset with how long it took. The entire time she was away she felt the need to get back to Bella. It made her rethink her want to hunt humans. She was considering changing to animals for a while just so she wasn’t away from her mate. The taste would be horrible but being close to Bella was more important than that.

“She refused to go to bed until you got back. Every time I’ve tried to move her to bring her upstairs she woke up and fought to stay down here until you got home.” Rosalie had wanted Bella to sleep in their bed but the human had been adamant about waiting for Victoria. Rosalie was just happy she finally went to sleep because initially she had refused to even rest before Victoria got back.

Victoria smiled as she walked over to the pair and leaned down and kissed Bella’s cheek. “Bella I’m back lets go to bed.”

“Vic.” Bella mumbled reaching out in her sleep.

“Bella we need to go to bed.” Victoria told her as she held Bella’s hand in her own. In reply Bella just pulled the hand to her body and snuggled closer to Rosalie not waking up at all.

“Actually before you bring Bella to bed I was wondering if I could speak to the both of you.” Tanya said before Victoria could take Bella to their room. “We have had a few things happen while you were gone that we need to discuss. I would recommend waking Bella up as well but I figure you guys can tell her all about this when she wakes up.”

Noticing the serious looks on each of the vampires’ faces Victoria was on full alert. “What happened when I was gone?”

“Carlisle called.” Rosalie tightened her hold on Bella a little bit as saying the man’s name caused her distress.

“What did he want?” Victoria asked.

“He called under the guise of trying to find Rosalie.” Irina quickly added before Victoria could speak. “Don’t worry we told him she wasn’t here.”

Victoria sighed in relief. “Good he doesn’t need to know where she is.”

“The problem is he doesn’t believe it.” Kate said.

“Why not? Did Alice say something?” Victoria figured the seer had been watching Rosalie.

“That’s one of the things we wanted to tell you. Apparently Bella’s shield is strong enough to not only block Alice’s gift from working on herself but it protects all of us as well.” Tanya told her.

“Seriously?” Victoria asked.

Eleazar nodded. “I believe that when Bella used her gift protecting the both of you in Seattle it strengthened it to the point that Alice’s gift no longer worked. I think it covers us as well because subconsciously Bella cares about us enough to want to keep us safe.”

“Do you think that if you were threatened that Bella would protect you like she protects us?” Rosalie was happy to hear that Bella saw the Denali as people she cared about. It would hopefully help Rosalie convince her and Victoria to stay with her cousins.

“I have no doubt that if threatened Bella would instantly come to any of the people in this room’s aide.” Eleazar said.

“Our human is so cool.” Kate was happy that Bella was willing to go to bat for her and the rest of her family. She already claimed Bella as a sister and it seemed Bella had claimed all of them as well.

“Yes she is.” Irina agreed. Tanya had hinted at wanting to talk about the triad joining their coven but they hadn’t sat down and talked about it as a family. Irina would vote yes to them joining her family and knew the others would as well. Not only did she like Bella but with Bella’s gift it would make their coven incredibly powerful.

“Was Carlisle only looking for Rosalie when he called?” Victoria asked getting back on track.

“No, he asked if we had come across a vampire with a gift that would allow them to block Alice. We of course told him that we didn’t and that we didn’t know why Alice’s gift wasn’t working. It was obvious that he didn’t believe us and we predict he is going to come here soon.” Tanya told her.

Victoria growled at the thought.”That man will not get anywhere near Bella or Rosalie.”

“Calm down your upsetting Bella.” Rosalie motioned to Bella who was starting to stir.

“Sorry.” Victoria took a seat on the floor in front of Bella and Rosalie and leaned her head next to Bella’s face causing the girl to settle back down instantly.

“We all feel the same way you do. None of us will let anything happen to any of you.” Tanya promised. She wasn’t just saying those words either. When talking to the queens Tanya had officially claimed the trio as part of her coven. They hadn’t made it official but since it seemed that Bella at least cared enough about them to protect them that made Tanya hopeful that the three would accept the invitation.

“Yeah they are going to have to get through all us before they can even think of getting anywhere near any of you.” Kate told her.

“Thank you.” Rosalie said.

“That being said what do you think Carlisle is planning. If he thinks you are lying about not only Rosalie but the gifted vampire what is he going to do about it?” Victoria asked.

“He has probably already contacted his allies. From what Rosalie has told us and from what we know of him personally he will not leave this alone.” Tanya could guarantee it. “Not only has he lost one of his prizes he now knows there is someone out there that can block Alice’s gift. That is one of his best weapons. Knowing what is going to happen and what everyone is planning would give him the confidence to go forward with his plans. The problem I personally see is that he may know that it’s Bella blocking Alice’s gift.”

“How would he know that?” Carmen asked.

“Rosalie when did you turn off your phone?” Tanya asked ignoring Carmen’s question.

“I turned it off at the airport before I boarded my plane to Washington and haven’t turned it on since.” Rosalie said.

“Eleazar have you ever come across any other mental shields?” Tanya asked.

Eleazar shook his head. “The only other shield I have ever come across other than Bella was Renata. Her shield was physical though not mental.”

“That’s what I thought.” Tanya sighed. “Carlisle knew that Bella could block Edward’s gift. So he has knowledge of her shield. Added to that when he told us about Rosalie not wanting to find a mate Bella growled catching his attention. I’m pretty sure because of that he knows we have Bella.”

“But does he know Bella is still human?” Kate asked.

“If he only believed that Bella could block Edward’s gift then I don’t think he does. Someone as powerful as Bella is as a human is unheard of. In the sense that I have literally never heard of any gifted human who can do even a margin of what Bella can do. He has to think that Bella has been turned.” Eleazar told them.

“Then he would think that she’s a newborn.” Irina said.

“Yes and with the fact that he knows that she is mated to Rosalie I suspect he probably thinks that Rosalie is her sire. He knows how serious we take the mate bond and I remember a discussion we had about if we found our mate in a human if we would turn them ourselves. I told him that it was the right of a vampire to turn their mate.” Tanya told them.

“If he thinks I’m Bella’s sire then he probably expects to be able to control both of us.” Rosalie didn’t like that conclusion but it was the most obvious.

“Exactly,” Tanya agreed.

“Do you think he would come here in peace to ask for Rosalie and Bella?” Victoria wanted to know exactly how Carlisle thought. It would help them make a better plan on how to defeat him and whoever he brought with him.

“He will probably call all his allies and have them stage far enough away from here that we wouldn’t detect them but close enough they could be here in a moment’s notice. Then he would try to get Rosalie to come with him through the sire bond forcing her to bring Bella with her. If that failed he would have no choice to kill Bella if she went against him because she was a danger to his plans. At least that’s what I think he would do.” Tanya said.

“I think you have it about right. He wouldn’t want to lose face in front of you because he knows you are loyal to the queens. He would try to be as nice and pleasant as he could be so that he wouldn’t tip you off to his plans for fear you would tell the queens.” Rosalie told them.

“Speaking of the queens what did they say about all of this?” Irina asked. “You said you would tell us when Victoria got back.”

“The queens expressed their concern for Bella. They want her to go to the castle at least until the time she is turned to make sure no one gets to her before she is ready.” Tanya held up a hand to stop everyone’s questions. “They didn’t demand it. It’s obvious they are interested in Bella but are being careful of our feelings. It was hinted at that if we didn’t want to go to the castle that they would send some of the guard to protect Bella if she wished to remain here.”

“Bella is not going to Italy.” Victoria growled. She wasn’t going to let her mate near the royals when she was still human. Victoria amended that thought. She wasn’t going to let anyone near Bella while she was still human other than the Denali. Even though she would prefer otherwise the coven had proven to be good allies to them so far.

“Then do we want them to send members of the guard here?” Kate asked. She didn’t like either option but wanted to pick the lesser of two evils.

“I would rather them come here than us go to the castle.” Rosalie figured if they came to Alaska Bella would be able to protect herself better against a few vampires than she would against a castle full of them. She was sure that even though they technically worked for the royals more than one vampire would be tempted to turn Bella. Her gift was to valuable for some to pass up.

“I agree.” Tanya would rather none be in their home but it would be better than being under the microscope they would be under if they were in the castle.

“What do you think?” Rosalie asked Victoria.

Victoria thought they should just grab Bella and run as far away from all of this as they could but that wasn’t the right thing to do. Bella needed help with her gift and Victoria and Rosalie weren’t the ones who could do that.”If we have to choose between going to Italy or having visitors I would rather have visitors.”

“So that means we are inviting the Volturi into our home?” Kate didn’t like that idea very much but at least they could flee with Bella easier in Alaska then they could if they went to Italy.

“Let’s put it to a vote. Those in favor of inviting the guard here instead of going to the castle raise your hand.” Tanya wasn’t surprised when everyone raised their hands. “Then it’s settled I will let the queens know that we would welcome anyone they send to help with the Cullens.”

“We will let Bella know what’s going on in the morning. Until then I want to get her into a proper bed.” Victoria motioned for Rosalie to hand her Bella so she could carry her up the stairs. She smiled when as soon as Bella settled into her arms she snuggled close to Victoria’s body.

“Tomorrow I think we should continue with our training. It’s more important than ever for us to be in fighting shape for what is to come.” Tanya had the family training but knew they needed to put in a much bigger effort if they were to be ready for the threats currently against them.

“Bella will probably sleep in in the morning but after she gets up we are all more than willing to continue training.” Rosalie knew she needed more practice because as it was she could barely defend herself and in no way could protect Bella.

“Good then we have a plan.” Tanya was happy with the way the talk went. She had expected more of a reaction from Victoria and Rosalie when she revealed what the queens had said and was happy that they all kept clear heads. Tanya hoped that that trend would continue when the guard came as well because Tanya knew that once she gave the go ahead that the queens would have the guard members on their way to Alaska in minutes. Their interest in Bella was to great to have her unprotected.

“We will see you in the morning.” Rosalie said as she followed Victoria upstairs to their room with Bella. Once she closed the door she spoke. “What do you think about all this?”

Victoria laid Bella on the bed and started removing Bella’s clothes so she would be more comfortable. “About what exactly?”

“I guess everything.” Rosalie moved to help undress Bella and get her settled. Once she was under the blankets she removed her own clothes and took her side of the bed next to Bella smiling when Bella reached for her.

Victoria did the same as Rosalie and removed her clothing laying down on the other side of Bella putting her arm around Bella’s waist and settling in. “I think Carlisle is a problem that can no longer be put off dealing with and I’m concerned about what allies he has gotten.”

“I wish I had learned more while I was staying with them.” Rosalie hated the fact that she squandered the chance to get information that would help protect her mate.

“You couldn’t have done anything without getting caught and if you did there was no way they were going to let you leave. The fact that you got away and you were able to warn all of us about Carlisle is what you should focus on. None of us even knew he was a threat until you showed up.” Noticing Rosalie didn’t look convinced Victoria continued. “You are the reason we have a chance to save Bella from Carlisle. If you hadn’t showed up then Bella would have been unprotected against a full coven of vampires that could have easily captured her and turned her by force. I wouldn’t have known about the danger so I wouldn’t have been watching out for it. Bella had told me the Cullens weren’t coming back so we both thought that they were gone.”

Rosalie knew Victoria was right but she still felt like she was letting them down. “I know I just hate the missed opportunity.”

“There is nothing to be done about it now. Now we have to prepare for the threat we know about.” Victoria said.

“Do you think we are going to have to worry about the Volturi?” Rosalie asked.

“I do. The queens aren’t known for being as ruthless as the kings but their interest in Bella is concerning. It’s obvious they want her for the guard but what they will do to achieve that is unknown. At least Bella can protect herself from someone attacking her even if we don’t like the side effects of her using her gift.” That was one thing that brought Victoria comfort. The fact that Bella could protect herself from a threat. Even when she was passed out she attacked Eleazar so it would be hard for someone to get to her if she was left on her own.

“That is something positive. I don’t want her to have to though.” Rosalie was afraid of what would happen if Bella used her gift again. She doubted Bella would be lucky enough to just have a change to her appearance happen.

“The only thing we can really do is react to each threat as they come and prepare as best as we can. I would tell you not to worry but I would be a hypocrite because I’m just as worried.” Victoria didn’t know what was going to happen but was soothed somewhat by the fact they had people who would be able to fight on their side. All that mattered was that Bella was kept safe.

“I do worry.” Rosalie said laying her head on Bella’s chest. She took comfort in the steady heart beat of her mate.It was conformation that at least right that second Bella was safe and alive. Rosalie just hoped that they would be able to keep her safe enough that Bella would stay that way. She had no doubt that every vampire in the house with them would do whatever they could to keep Bella safe but she was still worried. Rosalie figured that just came with having a mate. You always worried about their safety.