62. Victory Celebration

BPOV

Esme had wisely kept herself, Emily, and Kim busy preparing a feast for our return, anticipating a celebration. She had put Jared and Seth to work outside, setting up tables and chairs, manning the grill, and other preparatory tasks. They all ran out to greet us as we approached. Emily and Esme eagerly approached their lovers, finding themselves wrapped up in their mates' embraces, happy to be safely back together again.

Laurent unconsciously took a step toward Kim and Emily, but was stopped by a chorus of growls. "Humans?" he asked in disbelief. "You keep human pets along with werewolf pets?"

"We're not pets, leech!" Sam snarled angrily. "We're friends."

Laurent just looked confused, glancing from Carlisle and Esme to Sam and Emily. "Friends? With humans?"

"You were human once too, Laurent. Don't forget that," Edward reminded him. "Would you feed on and kill your own mother, your own child? Every human is somebody's child, somebody's family. Humans are sentient beings and without them there would be no vampires. It is important to preserve humanity. Besides, life is a lot more interesting with humans around." He smiled at me, then kissed me gently.

Laurent gasped and wrinkled his nose. "You are intimate with a werewolf? Doesn't the smell alone repulse you?"

Edward laughed. "She is actually a human, not a werewolf. She smells amazingly delicious for a human, which is why we have disguised her scent with werewolf odor. Normally, her scent is the most tempting I've ever smelled. She's my singer. She's also my soul mate."

"If she is your soul mate, why haven't you changed her yet?" Laurent wondered.

"There are still a few experiences I would like for her to have while she is still human. I would like to get married, for example, while she is still human, so her human mother can attend and her natural father can walk her down the aisle. Most of us don't have a choice in becoming what we are. We don't usually get the chance to get closure with our loved ones before we are dead to them. We want to leave her family and friends with the best possible memories of her, so they can know she was happy when she 'died'."

Laurent nodded in understanding, looking at me in a whole new light. I could practically see the wheels turning in his mind as he processed all he had learned this evening. "I would like to have a mate," he whispered, "to give meaning to my existence."

"You'll find one, if you are strong enough to stick to animal blood. You see, animal drinkers are stronger, not weaker. Perhaps not physically so, but certainly mentally. It takes a great deal of effort, self-control, and self-discipline to maintain an animal blood diet, since the blood doesn't taste as good and isn't as satisfying. Not many vampires have what it takes to succeed at this life. Only the elite few can handle it. The rest just take the easy way out. They are the ones who are weak, who have no self-control, not us," I declared loyally. I knew he might be confused by me saying 'us' when I was clearly still human, but I was already a member of the Cullen family, and I would be a vampire someday. When that happened, I would proudly join their diet. I was determined to follow Carlisle's example and never drink human blood.

I could see him processing my words, as his admiration and respect for me grew.

"How can a human be comfortable around all these creatures who could easily kill her in seconds, simply by accident?" he wondered.

I smiled. "Laurent, I'm a danger magnet. I'm used to trouble chasing me down and having its wicked way with me. Honestly, I could get struck by lightning, or get hit in the head by a stray meteor. I could slip in the bathtub, for that matter. Death and injury are always lurking right around the corner for me. If I never did anything that might hurt or kill me, I might as well do nothing at all. Do you know how many people pass away peacefully in their sleep? There is nothing that is truly safe for humans in this world, not even breathing. So frankly, I am comfortable with all of these people here, because they are my family. I love them and trust them and enjoy their company. I don't judge people by what they are, but by who they are. Most of us don't have a choice as to what we are, but we do have control over who we are. Every day we choose to be good or evil, to do right or wrong, to be selfless or selfish. Those choices are ours whether we are human, vampire, or werewolf." Laurent's eyes were wide with amazement by the time I finished my lecture. Interestingly enough, so were Edward's. I don't think he had ever considered that aspect before. The real test would be if this caused him to go psycho with a complete nervous breakdown, freaking out with every breath I take, searching the sky for stray meteors, and trying to watch me in the bathtub, or would he finally relax and realize that getting hurt and risking death is a natural part of life. Risks could be minimized, but not removed completely. Would he be on the internet later, trying to find a bubble to contain me to keep me safe from the world, or would he finally take each day as it comes and help me enjoy our time together. Of course, if he wanted to stay in the bubble with me, I might not mind too much. I would prefer if he would just relax a bit and live on faith that we are meant to be together, and whatever happens between now and my change we'd handle together as a team.

I smiled at him, hoping for the best. "I'm going to go take a shower now. I'm feeling rather grimy." I looked pointedly at Edward's shirt, where it had been in contact with my muddy one. He looked down at himself and made a disgusted face, causing several of us to chuckle.

He gave me his crooked smile and gestured up the stairs. "You go first, love. I'll get cleaned up when you are finished."

Several of the showers upstairs were already in use. I hoped their hot water tank was really, really big, or there wouldn't be any hot water left by the time Edward got there. I winked at him and headed upstairs. I figured he wanted to keep an eye on Laurent.

"Why don't I tell you about our cousins, the Denali clan," I heard Edward offer before I was out of hearing range.

By the time I got out of the shower, dressed and came back downstairs, Laurent had already left for Denali. I wasn't terribly surprised he didn't feel comfortable getting cozy with our Forks family, particularly the werewolves and humans. Seth and Quil had volunteered to escort him, making sure he actually followed through with his decision to go there, as that was the only reason we had agreed to let him go. I felt bad about Seth missing the party when he had already missed out on the baseball game, but Edward told me Seth was hoping Laurent would make a break for it, so he would have a good reason to chase him, rip him to shreds, and burn the parts to ash. I rolled my eyes. What is it with boys and their love of violence? I knew Laurent had made it safely to Denali in Meyer's books without a werewolf or vampire escort but, considering the changes we had made, it was better safe than sorry. I couldn't wait to hear about his first meeting with Irina.

"Has anyone called the Denali clan to tell them to expect Laurent and two werewolves on their doorstep?" I wondered.

Edward grinned. "Yeah, Carlisle called while you were in the shower. It would have been quite a shock for them otherwise."

"Depending on their previous experiences, I think they may be shocked anyway," Jasper concluded. "Those wolves are enough to strike terror into a vampire's heart. I have a feeling they'd be awfully tempted to attack first and ask questions afterward, if they hadn't been informed to expect them."

"They better not hurt Seth or Quil," I threatened angrily.

"Relax, my Bella," Edward soothed. "They won't now that they know the wolves are part of our family."

"Are you sure it was wise to tell them? Remember that Irina and Laurent both betrayed us in Meyer's future," I reminded Edward. His eyes widened as he remembered. The Volturi's surprise at the appearance of the wolves was a major factor saving us in that Breaking Dawn book. Without the advantage of that surprise, would the confrontation have turned out so well? Would they have stopped? Would they have been better prepared to fight us? Had we just dug our own grave? I had a niggling feeling that facing the Volturi was one of those major things fate would not allow us to avoid. We would be more careful to keep away from them, to hide the knowledge of ourselves from them, but someday, something would trigger them. At least Edward would never be stupid enough to go and ask them to kill him. We wouldn't be voluntarily walking into the lion's den to awake the sleeping beast this time. No, we would keep our cards close to our chest and hide a few up our sleeve as well. We'd do whatever we could to stack the deck in our favor, just as we had done with James and Victoria.

"The Meyer psychic warned that Laurent would betray us, and you just let him go?" Jasper demanded, furious and in full deadly soldier mode. His body practically vibrated with tension.

"Relax, Jasper," I explained. "Alice is perfectly safe. He only came to kill me after all of you abandoned me."

"Only?" he shouted, glaring at me.

I put my hand on his shoulder, and he flinched involuntarily, but did not shake me off of him. "Jasper, in Meyer's version of events, your whole family abandoned me without saying goodbye, and Edward told me he didn't want me or love me, that our whole relationship had merely been a game to him. That isn't going to happen, since now Edward knows it would be the biggest mistake he ever made and would destroy our entire family for no reason. Secondly, it was Victoria who blackmailed him and lured him away from his mate and the vegetarian diet. He didn't want to hurt me, and did offer me a quick death, as opposed to the extensive torture Victoria had planned for me. Since Victoria is gone, there is no reason for him to leave Irina or Denali."

"It's better safe than sorry," Jasper scowled, folding his arms across his chest. "We should have disposed of him while we had the chance, instead of constantly having to watch our backs in the future, especially since Alice's visions are now impaired."

I squeezed his shoulder with my pitiful human strength and looked into his eyes. "Jasper, he is Irina's mate. She's been alone for a thousand years. Don't you believe she deserves this chance at happiness?"

His face softened, and he appeared convinced, but suddenly his features hardened again. "Didn't you just say that she betrayed us too?

"Yes, but it was just a misunderstanding. She thought we created an immortal child and reported it to the Volturi. She repented when she discovered the truth and stood up for us in the end, but the Volturi killed her for it anyway. Actually, they killed her in an attempt to get us to attack them, so they would have an excuse to kill us, but we managed to hold firm."

Jasper sighed, obviously torn. "I see it was a difficult decision to make. We'll keep an eye on them then, at least, after the wolves leave we will."

"Thanks, Jasper," I whispered, giving him a big hug.

"For what?" he asked, stunned.

"For understanding," I answered with a sweet smile.

Something flashed in his eyes, but then he smirked at me. "If this comes back to bite us in the back, don't be surprised to hear 'I told you so' a few hundred times over the course of your existence."

I grinned. "Fair enough, Jasper."

He grinned back and gave Edward a playful shove. "Go get that shower already, Edward! You stink!"

Edward shoved him back. "Watch it, Jasper. I'm sure the wolves would be happy to give you a nice, big group hug to make you feel better."

Jasper made a disgusted face, wrinkling his nose, and shuddered. "Thanks, but I'll pass."

"Aww, come on, Jasper. You know you like it," Embry taunted from outside. The wolves that had already showered were busy piling food onto their plates. "A nice hug to show our brotherly affection is just what you need, bro."

"Yeah, I'm really not the touchy, feely type," Jasper responded. "I'd prefer we express our brotherly affection in ways that aren't so up close and personal."

"Aww, Jasper, you're hurting my feelings, man," Jared teased.

Jasper laughed. "Uh, yeah, Jared, nice try. Sorry, but the empath isn't falling for that one."

We all laughed, and Edward headed upstairs for his shower. I followed Jasper outside and went to sit by Alice. Alice gave me a quick hug and then quirked her brow. I matched her look and waited for an explanation.

"Aren't you going to get a plate of food?" she inquired laughingly.

"Oh, yeah, well, I'm not that hungry," I started, but my stomach chose that moment to prove me a liar, snarling loudly in protest. I smiled sheepishly at my best friend. "Okay, I'm hungry. I was just going to wait for Edward to join me."

"Bella, Edward doesn't eat food," Emmett told me, his face perfectly serious.

I looked at him as if he had bats in his belfry. "I know that!"

He shrugged. "So why are you waiting for him? It's not like he's going to get a plate of food tonight. He doesn't need to go through the line with you or anything."

I rolled my eyes. "It's the polite thing to do."

He rolled his eyes back at me. "If you're waiting for him to join you for dinner, you're going to be waiting for a long, long time. Unless you want me to catch him a fox? I can bring it back to the table for him and then you two can have dinner together."

He was being sarcastic, but I was feeling a little intrigued.

It was Jasper's turn to stare at me as if measuring me for a straitjacket and a padded cell. "You're intrigued? Are you insane? Did you even stop to think about it? What do you think would happen if Emmett brought an animal back here for Edward, and the smell of freshly spilled animal blood filled the air? Do you want to be surrounded by seven thirsty vampires? Besides, don't you faint at the sight of blood? You'd be unconscious and miss the whole thing anyway."

"It's not the sight of blood that bothers me. It's the smell," I muttered, embarrassed.

"The smell?" he asked blankly. "Humans can't smell blood."

I sighed, "Well, I can. It smells like rust and salt. Besides, I know that's not true. I've seen movies and read books where people realize they smell blood nearby."

"That's in large quantities and after it starts to decay," he argued. "You've got a superior sense of smell for a human. I wonder if that will come with you as a power in your vampire life. Maybe you'd be a good tracker, with a sense of smell that surpasses other known vampires. Hmmm. What is it going to mean for you as a vampire if you're so disgusted by blood as a human?"

"It actually will give me great control, because human blood won't smell all that great to me. It'll smell really delicious, but not irresistible."

Jasper was clearly impressed. "Really? Now that's a nice power to have. If I wasn't currently mastering my blood lust with Carlisle's blood training, I think I'd be quite envious."

"How's that going by the way?" I wondered.

He smiled proudly. "I've pretty much mastered your scent. Carlisle brings home small samples of blood from the hospital that would have been thrown away otherwise and uses them to help me resist human blood in general, not just yours. I've actually started to be able to discern the different aspects that make up a particular scent, whereas before all human blood smelled the same to me—irresistibly, fantastically delicious."

Alice had been giving him a proud, supportive hug throughout his elucidation. Now it was my turn to hug him and let him feel how proud I was of his progress. His whole face lit up as he felt my admiration and trust for him. I ruffled his hair playfully, and he grinned lightheartedly. Alice was happy to see him so happy.

"So, did you recognize James at all?" I asked Alice.

"No, should I have?" she responded curiously.

"Remember, I told you James was the reason you were turned into a vampire."

She was flabbergasted. "When did you tell me that?"

"Back when we told you guys all about the stuff in Meyer's books."

"You told us so much stuff that night. I could search my huge memory banks, but why don't you just tell me again," she retorted.

"You were in a mental institution. A vampire who worked there cared about you. James caught your scent and considered you that vampire's pet, so he decided to hunt you as a game to pit himself against your caretaker. Your protector decided to change you to keep you safe from James. He took you from the asylum and ran with you. When James tracked you both down, you were already changing and it was too late for your blood to taste good. James was angry and killed the other vampire for 'winning' the game. That's why you woke up alone."

Alice was listening intently, while Jasper rubbed soothing circles on her back and kissed her head.

"What else?" she asked. I racked my memory. It had been quite a few weeks since I read the books, which was a long time to remember something you've only read once, at least if you're a forgetful human.

"Um, your human name was Mary Alice Brandon. You have family still alive in Biloxi."

With that announcement, she jumped up and grabbed my shoulders.

"I have family?" she shrieked. "Who? Tell me everything." She was a bit scary as she demanded answers. Answers I didn't have.

"Umm, I'm sorry, Alice," I admitted. "I honestly don't remember."

She got a panicked look in her eye. "Shush," I cooed calmly. "Remember, Edward read the same thing I did, and he has a perfect memory, so he'll be able to recall it for you."

"Edward!" she called, bouncing in place, wringing her hands nervously.

In a matter of seconds he was there in front of us. "You rang?" he smirked.

"Tell me about my family, Edward!" she ordered impatiently.

He smiled at her attitude. "You had a younger sister named Cynthia. She had a daughter. Your niece is still alive and living in Biloxi."

Alice squealed so loud, we all clapped our hands over our ears. I was expecting to see the windows shatter, but apparently she must not have hit the right note, as they remained firmly in place. Jasper was so overwhelmed with her ecstatic joy that he jumped up to share her giddy excitement. The two of them began dancing a jig across the lawn. We all laughed, watching them. Edward went and fetched a plate for me while I watched the loving couple. He came back with a plate piled high, nigh unto overflowing, with lots of yummy delicacies.

By the time I finished eating, Alice had calmed down enough to sit beside me again. "So, when are you going to go and see her?" I asked.

"Jazz and I'll go this summer over break!" she exclaimed, grabbing my hands. "I'm so excited! I finally have a past!"

Life is good. My soul mate loves me and will never leave me. My best friend is happy beyond belief. James and Victoria are dead. My entire family is safe and unharmed. Now I just had to survive the Prom and the After-Prom party. Oh, yeah. And shopping for a prom dress. With Alice. I groaned. They might as well start carving my tombstone now…

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SORRRRRRRRYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Im too busy with my exams... They're on the 4th-14th... Im super worried about them and i never get a chance to get on the laptop now.. Il try n upload again....

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