Chapter 10
Isaac was shivering but somewhat aware when Peter brought him back home and put him on his bed with a worried Bella pacing beside the bed. “Derek said his bones need to be set before they can actually heal…” she said in a small voice, not liking seeing her Isaac like this. His torn, barely there, clothes, his small cuts finally healing. She wanted to yell at Isaac for getting into trouble, but she also wanted to hug him and tell him that everything was going to be alright.
“Yeah, sorry, darlin’,” Peter said as he looked at her with a look of pity on his face. “And he needs to be conscious for them to heal, too, but he will be in a lot of pain.”
“Can you set his bones?”
“Yes.”
“Okay,” she nodded as she quickly left the room and dialed Derek’s number after closing the door. There wasn’t much that she could do but to ask for more information. She needed more.
“Hey.”
“He’s home,” she said before wincing after hearing Isaac scream from the other room. “I have someone setting his bones.”
“Good. Now, he needs to be awake or at least conscious for the bones to heal.”
“And how do I do that!” Bella blurted as another scream filled the room, soon followed by another, the pain in her heart growing. She wanted to burst into tears and cry. It felt as if she was being ripped apart from the inside.
“Just how Isaac cleared you off the influences of your poisoning. Your touch can take some of his pain away,” Derek said calmly, although he was quite unnerved by Isaac’s screaming. “You can do this, Bella.”
“What can I give him against the pain? I doubt an aspirin will help!”
“Morphine? But honestly, the best you can do is to help him deal with his pain. Don’t be afraid.”
“You’re no help,” she said as she disconnected the phone call and started pacing in their living room while trying to tune out his screams. It took maybe fifteen minutes for Peter having set all of Isaac’s bones at vampire speed, and when he had stopped screaming, she made her way back into his bedroom, his face white as a sheet as he had once again, passed out.
“He’s going to be alright,” Peter said gently, taking her hand and helped her sit down on the edge of Isaac’s bed before placing her hand on his shoulder.
Bella blinked when her veins widened and darkened, she could feel it sting, but she could feel herself calm down now that Isaac was more comfortable. He was in so much pain and she still felt like she needed to cry, but she felt that he was feeling better now. After a couple of minutes, Peter removed her hand from Isaac, which made her look up at him with tears in her eyes. “Why did you do that?”
“You’re going to wear yourself out, darlin’,” he said kindly. “Five minutes, once an hour. I know that you want to help him, but not at the cost of yourself.” He gently squeezed her shoulder before leaving the room.
Bella sighed as she laid down next to him, an arm around him, making sure that her hands weren’t touching him. “I’m very angry with you, Lahey,” she said softly. “Don’t you ever scare me like this ever again, you hear me? You’re grounded.” Oh, she could tell it that was going to be at least a few hours until he’d be coherent enough to hear her or talk back at her, but she needed him to know that he was grounded. She wasn’t going to allow him to go out anymore. Not for a very long time. And she was going to kill Jeremy, he was supposed to keep an eye out.
Exhausted herself from all the worrying, she drifted off in a light sleep herself.
~o.O.o~
She jolted awake when Isaac stirred underneath her arm. “Hey,” she whispered. “Easy, you’re okay,” she wasn’t sure for how long she’d been out, but she gently placed her hand on his arm to soothe him and take some of his pain away again. His eyes shot open and he wanted to sit up, but Bella pushed him down again. “You’re home, in your bed,” she told him. “Peter set your bones and you’re healing.”
“It hurts,” he let out a whine.
“I know, I know,” she soothed him while she gently pushed his hair out of his face before placing her hand on his arm again. She could feel only a fraction of his pain and she couldn’t imagine what he was going through right now.
“Ric and Jer… they’re okay?”
“Yes, I’m not worried about them,” she replied as she kept her hand on him but laid back down again. “Jasper is bringing them and the weapons home.”
“I was so stupid, I—I should have checked myself over after— It was such a rookie mistake!”
Bella shifted a little and removed her hand from his arm to make him look at her. “It could have happened to anyone, it’s not your fault and everyone is okay,” she smiled at him. “Just tell me what you need. I had to call Derek to know what we had to do about your injuries because you and I never covered this.”
Isaac slowly nodded. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” she said as she sat up, gently squeezing his arm. “Go rest, I’m going to get you something to drink and do something about that Cold One in our living room.”
“What?”
“Relax,” Bella pushed him down again. “He’s friendly. It’s Peter. So, you relax and heal up,” she said as she handed him his remote and turned on the TV. “Go watch some TV.”
He let out a small whine, sounding something like a wounded puppy that wasn’t getting his way. “But I don’t wanna watch television! What’s Peter doing here? He never comes up here!”
“He ran all the way from the farm to get your ass out of there and brought you here,” she replied, her anger slightly flaring up. “Because there’s no way that the three of you would have been able to get out of there without you, and since it was so close to the town you were at? You’d be sitting ducks.”
Isaac pouted and tried to roll away from her. “It wasn’t so bad,” he slurred as his face buried into the mattress. “I’ve had worse.”
“I almost accepted Derek’s offer to come here and help, you know!” she scolded him.
He lifted his head, confused again. “When did you talk to your brother?”
There was a knock on the door before Peter’s voice sounded. “Bella, let him rest and come here, please.”
“Yeah, I agree, I might punch him in the face myself,” she growled as she left the bedroom and was immediately sat down at the table by Peter with a glass of whiskey in front of her. Had he forgotten that she was a werewolf now and couldn’t get drunk? “You need to tell me how bad it was.”
“Eh… Jeremy died, but he came back. Alaric’s kids were overprotective so they had spelled him… ah… they had Isaac propped up against the truck that was short-circuiting so he couldn’t heal properly, which was actually a good thing seeing as I had to set his bones and break some that did heal a bit on our way here…” Peter explained with a light tone of voice, knowing that the Alpha in front of him was experiencing all kinds of emotions right now. “Jasper’s making sure everyone’s getting back safe. Isaac was just very unlucky. And you know, I think that the knives that the hunters used to cut him weren’t just laced with poison but also some sort of numbing agent so he didn’t feel it until the adrenaline wore off.”
“Are you trying to make me feel better?”
“Is it working?”
“No, I think Derek did a better job this time,” Bella said as she knocked back her whiskey and blinked as she felt it go straight to her head. “Holy…that sucked!”
“Want another one?”
She handed him her glass with a nod. “The most infuriating thing is that Isaac thinks it wasn’t that bad and that he’s had worse. Does he have a concussion or something?”
Peter sighed as he grabbed the bottle and set it down in front of her with her glass. “You need to keep on drinking if you want to hear the true extent of his injuries.”
“I’m never letting him outside again, not for any of your so-called routine missions,” she scowled as she filled up her glass to the brim and drank it all. “And sure, things can go wrong on missions and Isaac is usually fine, but fuck, Peter. I could have lost him!” She filled her glass again and took a small sip of it. “What’s this shit, anyway?”
“Whiskey, just one of our special brews that we make on our farm.”
“What the fuck are you two doing out on that ranch?!” she questioned, staring at her glass.
“We experiment with shit after we’ve taken care of the animals. We have to kill time somehow with no permanent residents at the farm so far…” Peter explained, smiling widely. “I mean, I could come here and hang out, but you live near humans. Besides, this is your project, not mine.”
“I’m thankful for the distance, though. I feel that for the first time in my life I’m free. That I can decide what I want, how I want it, and make my own decisions. We’re building a life here, and…” Bella sighed happily as she took another swig of her whiskey. “I am so grateful for you, you know. Without you… I don’t know…”
“It’s what I do, kitten,” he smiled at her. “And I want to let you in on a secret.”
Bella nodded as she took another sip. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“Isaac’s one of my personal projects, long-term, had to take it easy with him. It was never my intention to allow him soldier on as a soldier for this long. He deserves better.”
She smiled then as she pat Peter on his knee, not wanting to get up because that whiskey sure was potent, but it made her feel so good too. “I know. You spoil him rotten. The truck? And now this?” she waved her hand around.
“And you.”
“Me? Am I a project of yours as well now?” she asked, her voice even with her annoyance growing again.
“Well, you have been for quite some time, I just hadn’t been able to get the right person for you to get you away from those assholes,” Peter shrugged. “You were on the list for a while, and when I did find the right person, I had to make sure he was ready for it too.”
“So basically this is a setup? What Isaac and I have is all a lie?”
“No, not at all. In fact, I didn’t even think you’d make it this far together because the both of you were so stubborn,” he let out a chuckle. “But you did. You two make you two work, naturally. Without any interference from anyone else.”
“Tell that to Caroline and Myriam,” Bella muttered. “They set us up for date night. Oh, and Derek wants me to talk to Isaac about my… underlying feelings for him.”
“I think those feelings are more towards to the surface than you may realize yourself,” Peter winked at her. “But I won’t call Isaac for a job for the next few months or so, maybe he’ll start liking staying around here instead of getting cabin fever.”
“He’s not going out again,” Bella said as she emptied her glass. “You can send people here that needs protecting and shit, as this place was set up to be that way, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to let you have him go places.”
“It’s also harder to get him to places without a decent truck,” Peter laughed. “But don’t worry, I’ll get you two like a pickup truck so you can still get around to your suppliers and stuff.”
“How bad did it look like? The truck?”
“It rolled down the side of a mountain, maybe like… 30 feet, if not more, what do you think?”
“No more food truck.”
“I promise. No more food truck. He has a beautiful kitchen now.”
A loud thump could be heard coming out of Isaac’s bedroom. “Motherfucker,” she said as she got up and wobbled for a moment as the alcohol really started to do its thing. She then looked at Peter, who was smiling from ear to ear. “Fucking asshole! You got me drunk! I need to take care of him!”
“I’ll get him back on to his bed, don’t you worry, kitten. You can have some more whiskey if you want,” Peter said playfully as he gently pushed her back into her chair with his finger before walking into Isaac’s bedroom. “And what were you planning on doing?” He questioned as he saw Isaac on the floor. “Didn’t she tell you to stay in bed?”
“I’m fine,” Isaac slurred as he tried to push himself up but cried out on pain.
“Totally,” Peter said as he picked up Isaac as if he weighed nothing and put him back down on the bed, tucking him in so tightly he couldn’t move. “Stay. Once you’re able to walk you might want to get a shower, but for now, you need to heal up. You’re a fucking mess, Lahey.”
“You can send Bella back in, your bedside manner needs some work,” he muttered.
“Yeah well, I’m trying to get her drunk on this special kind of alcohol Jazz and I have been brewing because I need to tell her something so you stay here, heal up and we’ll fill you in later,” he said as he gently pat Isaac on his head as if he were a puppy. “It’s very important that you heal up, rather sooner than later, okay? Take it easy.”
“I heal up faster if I turn.”
Peter thought for a moment. “Maybe later. Right now it’s going to hurt like a bitch.”
“But…”
“Isaac. No. Stay.” He said before leaving the bedroom again and closing the door. “Right, so, how drunk are you?” Peter asked Bella as she was pouring herself another glass but missed most of it and it was spilling onto the table. “Okay! Great!” He smiled widely.
“I fucking hate you, you bastard. Why does something so evil taste so good?”
“Because we made it with love. Seeing as we’ll be hosting a range of supernaturals who can’t get drunk in the future, we decided to play with things. Really science-y stuff, but it’s so good, Bella,” Peter said as he sat down again and took her hand. “But I have to admit, I got you drunk for a few reasons.”
“Asshole.”
“One,” he smiled as he held up his finger. “You being upset doesn’t help your man very much at this moment due to the fact that you took him as your beta, which brings me to two; him being hurt doesn’t do you much good either because you can sense he’s in pain. Like, a lot. Once he’s better, you two really should have a good talk about those feelings you have for him, and he for you, okay?”
“‘Kay,” she nodded as she laid her head on her free arm and kept looking at him. “I’m listening.”
“Three. I want you to consider calling your brother and having him, and just him, over for a few weeks. Argent can make sure that Peter stays the hell away and keep the other runts in check, but I think it’s a good idea for Derek to be here.”
“But I was going to meet him in New Orleans?” Bella said confused. “Myriam said that Klaus would really like him.”
“To tear him apart, maybe, for hurting his lover’s friend in the past,” Peter smirked. “I don’t think that’s a wise idea, kitten. You can go to New Orleans, sure, but don’t bring your brother.”
“Meh,” she sighed. “What about Uncle Peter?”
“Well, if you don’t mind him dead…”
“Noooooooooo,” Bella gasped. “No death!”
“Will you invite Derek over?”
“Why?”
“Because, four; I want to invite Rosalie and Emmett over as well. They’re on the run and could really use the safe haven we’ve created for supernaturals, they could use the protection we offer.”
“I always liked Rosalie,” Bella sighed happily. “And Emmett is a big tree! Yes! I want them here. Yes. Or at your farm, which is mostly a better thing because you guys sparkle and we don’t want the humans of Mystic Falls to get bedazzled.” She then looked up and tried to meet Peter’s eyes. “Wait, we do have a house filled with witches… surely they can make you something that stops you from sparkling?”
“Or maybe we’ll host a daylight disco and you’ll have a few living disco balls walking around,” Peter deadpanned, liking the idea though, but he wanted to make Bella laugh.
Bella let out a snort. “I’ll talk to Caroline.”
“That would be lovely, Bella, it’s been a very long time since we were able to walk in the full sun without looking like a freak. It’s easier on the farm, though, since we’re secluded.”
“Buuuuut… you’re lonely. I understand. Don’t worry, I’ll have them work something out.”
“Good, now… five… this concerns you. We’ve been tracking the remaining Cullens as well as we can, with our informants and sometimes my gift. With three of their members gone, Carlisle and Edward have redirected their focus on trying to find you. They still want you. They don’t know you’re a werewolf, all they know is that I took you, their human pet, away from them.”
“Are they close?”
“Not yet, but this is why I want your brother here, incase things do change and you’ll need all the help you can get. So reaching out to your new friends would be a good idea too, just to give them a head’s up and stuff, because I know that you just left them and wanted to forget about the Cullens, but I also know that you don’t want them anywhere near you and that you’ll want to kill them when they do.”
“Damn right,” Bella muttered. “They are fucking manipulative bastards who were only able to manipulate me because of Charlie listening to my birth mother and tried to keep my werewolf side under control. It still doesn’t make it right. No fucking around with humans!” She let out a growl then. “They’re going to die.”
“And you’ll need all the help you can get, you understand?”
Bella nodded as she fumbled her phone out of her pocket and dialed her brother’s number.
“I feel special! This is the third time you’ve called me!”
“Are you alone?”
“Are you drunk? How?! Are you okay?”
“Special kinda juice from some special friends of mine. Wanted to make sure I wouldn’t get angry and separate his head from his torso,” she glared at Peter who just smiled impishly. “Isaac’s healing up.”
“Good to hear that.”
“I told you about that family Isaac saved me from, right? As it turns out, they’re now hunting for me and they might be closing in, but my… friend doesn’t know when they’ll be here. What about taking some time off from playing with the puppies and come and visit us?”
“What about Isaac?”
“He’ll live.”
“Text me the address, I’ll be on my way.”
The following morning Isaac managed to take a nice, hot shower, easing the pain in his body. Every single part of his body hurt, and while he’d been through worse – electrical burns were a pain in the ass and he’d been in hospital then, this was far more painful. No morphine to keep him happily sedated.
He had thrown away his clothes and managed to get into a pair of sweats and a shirt before starting to make breakfast for himself and Bella. And the coffee, like he usually did every morning. It was strange to see an half empty bottle of whiskey standing on the table, or he thought it was whiskey, could have been really dark piss, but it smelled like alcohol and it didn’t have a label on it.
He took a swig from the bottle and blinked at the taste. It was delicious! He took another one, and maybe it was wrong to drink without having something to eat, but werewolves couldn’t get drunk, so no harm done there. He started to make the sandwiches and turned on the coffee maker, but by the time the coffee was done, he was wobbling on his feet as he had taken a few more swigs of the bottle.
It was numbing his pain, which was good, and whomever created this had a brilliant mind. He brought breakfast over to the table before sitting down and preferring the alcohol over the coffee while he nibbled on his sandwich. Oh yeah, the buzz was fantastic. He had eaten all the sandwiches and felt guilty, he was supposed to leave a few for Bella to eat! He got up with a whine, took the bottle with him and attempted to walk over to the fridge to get some more cold cuts out.
He tripped over his own feet, however, landing on the floor not so graciously, hurting himself again, but he couldn’t help but laugh at his own antics as he managed to sit up against the fridge and drank some more to drown out the new pain from his fall. Gracious, he was not.
“Hey uhm… Bella?” he called out to her. “Are you… like uh… awake?” Isaac then let out a giggle. He’d never been a lightweight even before he turned into a werewolf, what was in this shit?
Bella waddled out of her bedroom, her head feeling heavy as fuck, truly hungover but remembering everything she and Peter discussed the previous day and blinked when she saw Isaac sitting against the fridge with that whiskey in his hands. “Did you drink that?”
He took another swig from the bottle. “Correction; I am drinking this because it numbs my pain!”
“What are you doing on the floor?” she asked as she sat down next to him and took the bottle from him.
“I tripped,” he let out a snort. “That’s some serious stuff,” he said as he pointed at the bottle. “Where did you get it?”
“Peter and Jasper made it for us creatures who can’t get drunk the normal way,” she replied as she took a sip from the bottle and then set it aside. “But you shouldn’t be drinking, Isaac.”
“But it was there! And I ate all the sandwiches so I needed to make you new ones!”
“You’re not supposed to be on your feet. Not until Peter says so.”
“Peter can suck his own dick,” Isaac muttered with a sigh and tried to get up but failed. “Ah, I’ll just stay down here then.”
“Do your arms still hurt?” She asked him as she got back to her feet, ready to pull him up as she held out her hand. She saw the cogs working in Isaac’s head before he took her hand with his left arm so she could pull him to his feet. She was quick enough to steady him before he’d fall over again, and helped him to sit down in the chair again. “It sucks that you’ve numbed your pain, you know, I would have loved to know how you’re doing.”
“I’m fine,” he smiled at her. “Truly. I can walk, and once Peter says I can, I’ll turn and make me heal a bit faster.”
“I’d rather you take your time and don’t force anything, you have all the time in the world,” she said as she took a sip of her coffee. Yeah, the decision to have an expensive coffee maker in their apartment had been a great idea, it was very good for the soul. “Just take it easy, chill.”
“I’m in pain, Bella, I want it to go away,” he said as he glared at her, but he looked more like a puppy with his head cocked instead of threatening.
Bella hummed for an answer as she took a sip of her coffee, looking at him. “So, Peter got me drunk last night and I had an information overload, but that was necessary.”
“Do I need to be drunk for this?”
She shrugged then. “I’d rather not, because then you’ll fall over again. Drink your coffee, and until I find you’ve sobered up enough, you’re going to let me talk.” Bella fed him about five cups of coffee before he had sobered up somewhat, and she was confident that he’d retain the information she was about to give him.
“I’m going to kill Peter,” he mumbled after Bella had told him everything she had learned the previous night. The Cullens on the prowl, Peter advising to have Derek over… The truck being completely dead and not salvageable… “And I need to apologize to Jer when he gets back.” Oh yeah, because Isaac had been an idiot and not checked himself over for wounds, Jeremy died, and then came back again, but that wasn’t the point. He still died.
“Look, Peter believes that we can’t take on the Cullens by ourselves, which is why Derek is coming over. Just him. Argent is going to babysit. Yes, we have our new friends who could help us out, too, but maybe it’s not such a bad idea to have him here. You said it yourself, he’s no longer an Alpha, but he’s strong and capable.”
“I still don’t like the idea.”
“And you’re still hurting, so if the Cullens would arrive like today, you’d be incapable of fighting,” Bella said as she rose to her feet and ruffled his hair. “Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”
“I could just tu—”
“No turning until Peter says you can,” she said as she swatted him on his head. “Bed. Now. I’m going to take a shower and then I’ll be getting dressed. No more alcohol for you, either. Got that?”
~o.O.o~
Around lunch time, Peter came up to the apartment to get Bella and Isaac to join Myriam and Caroline downstairs for lunch while they waited for the arrival of Alaric and Jeremy. Isaac was doing a lot better, and, under the cautious eye of Peter, was allowed to turn or partially turn to speed up the healing process.
It had sounded like a bad idea, but when Isaac emerged from his bedroom, he looked significantly better; there was more color on his face than that morning, too.
A lot more coherent, too. The first thing he did was to give Peter a hug. “Thank you, man, you know, for saving my ass.”
“Anytime, Isaac. I could hardly leave my best employee stranded and left to die.”
Isaac then let go of him and punched his friend in the face, fracturing the bones in his hand again upon impact. “And that’s for telling Bella stuff without me, stuff that I don’t like!”
“It’s just Derek, dude. He’s her brother, and your beef with him is from a long time ago; get over it.”
Isaac growled at him then before realizing why he had been woken up. “Did someone say something about food?”
Bella punched his arm before looping her arm through his and started to lead him out of the apartment. “You’re feeling better then?”
“Oh yeah, loads,” he nodded. “Still not completely back to normal but turning definitely helped to give that extra push, you know. I’m really sorry for what happened. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You could have died.”
“Every mission has—”
“You could have died, Isaac,” she said again as she stopped walking and looked at him. “And I wasn’t kidding when I said you were grounded.”
“She’s right about that,” Peter said as he passed the two to give them some privacy. He knew that Bella still had to talk to Isaac about something important and he didn’t need to be there for that.
“But…”
“We help people. Here,” she motioned around her. “Peter has his ways to have the right people know about this place. You’re staying put.”
He looked at her for a moment, worry and pain all across her face and he couldn’t help but relent. For now. “Fine.” Yeah, he had worried her. Of course he had worried her, but it was what he did, did she really want him to stop? Solely focus on the B&B and food? Only play defense? He was going to be so bored out of his skull!
She wasn’t entirely convinced with his answer, but it was a start. At least he was coherent and back in his own mind so she could talk to him about something else, later. Although she was now wondering if maybe, just maybe, it was better to put it off. “Come, let’s join our friends for lunch. I was very thankful for Myriam and Caroline being here after your accident. There is no doubt that they’re wondering how you’re doing.”
“There he is, sleeping beauty!” Myriam grinned as she greeted him by raising a cup of coffee. “Good to see you up and walking, Isaac, you had us worried.”
Isaac stumbled slightly when Caroline rushed to him and hugged him tightly. “Woah, easy… Not completely healed yet…”
“Yes, and this is why Bella should have allowed me or Myriam to have given you our blood, so you’d heal up faster,” Caroline said as she playfully hit him on the head. “Our blood heals people, you know.”
“Now that’s just gross,” Isaac muttered as he had managed to pry Caroline off of him and sat down at the table. “I heal fast as it is… really don’t need your blood to help with that, sorry Caroline, but blood is gross.”
“Yeah, that’s what she said. On top of the fact that you hadn’t told her everything about your kind of wolf and all,” Caroline smirked at him.
“I did!”
“Not when it comes to wolfsbane and mistletoe, only the fucking basics,” Bella muttered as she sat down next to Isaac and poured herself a coffee. “So that will be something you’re going to teach me, and otherwise I’ll ask Derek,” she then looked at the other girls. “Who, by the way, is coming and we’re going to have to have a talk with Klaus, too. And Alaric, and Jeremy.”
“Oh, interesting,” Myriam smiled, intrigued. “What do you need my man for?”
“His help for when the Cullens come here to party.”
Myriam smirked then as she shot off a message to her boyfriend. “I think he’ll gladly leave New Orleans for that, and he might take some of his siblings and vampires with him.”
“Him and some of his siblings would suffice,” Peter said as he walked into the restaurant. “We wouldn’t want to risk drawing the attention of the hunters now, would we? Because while they’d love a fight, chances are that once we’re through with the Cullens, they’d come after us.”
“Wait, when are they coming?” Isaac asked as he took one of the sandwiches off the plate. Bella had said that Peter hadn’t known, but Peter was known not to say too much about things because things could still change. He still hated Peter for suggesting Derek to come as well, but on the other hand, Derek was a good fighter. Strong. Even as a beta. And Derek had experience with being an Alpha and with Bella having no experience at all, it would be nice for her to spend some time with her brother.
Isaac finally trusted Bella enough to know that she’d never turn into an asshole. He vaguely remembered her laying with him in bed, taking his pain away, and she’d been so gentle. But then again, that could have been his feverish mind. He still found it strange that he was back in a pack, a pack of two, but he knew that it had saved him after the accident. Isaac knew he should have died while the car tumbled down that side of the mountain. However, he would never admit that to Bella because she’d get really angry.
“I can’t exactly say when, all I know is that they’re coming. Rather sooner than later. You know very well that what I do isn’t quite exact science, Isaac,” he said with a sigh. “But what I do know is that Jasper is close with Alaric and Jeremy. He sent me a text message,” he added as he waved his phone around.
“I’m just glad they’re okay,” Caroline said with a nod. “I’ve asked the girls if they put a spell on their dad after he told them he’d be gone for a few days and that I wouldn’t be mad if they had and… well, I ended up hugging them because they had saved their dad. Not that I told them that he was in an accident, because that would have upset them… but they shouldn’t have done it… but I’m happy about it… I can’t be mad at them for this.”
“Yeah, neither can I,” Alaric’s voice sounded, causing Caroline to squeal and hug him tightly. “They’ll be getting all the ice cream they want for the next week,” he laughed as he returned the hug.
“Hey man, glad to see you up and around,” Jeremy smiled at Isaac. “You look a lot better than you did yesterday!”
“Yeah… I’m really sorry guys… about what happened. I should have known better,” Isaac apologized.
“Hey, it’s also on us,” Alaric said after Caroline let go of him. “We should have checked each other over for wounds before leaving the way that we did.”
Jasper walked in behind them with a box of pastries they picked up in Richmond for lunch. “But at least that Ikiryō is safe, right? I think that’s all that—”
Bella growled at Jasper and dug the nails of her transformed hand into her seat. “That’s not all that matters, Jasper, and you know that!”
He blinked at her for a moment as he picked up on her feelings before looking at Peter. “They haven’t had the talk yet?”
“He’s her beta now, I think that’s a step in the right direction,” Peter replied all smug as he stepped closer to his friend. “But you need to be careful what you’re saying, she’s still not happy with you around, but we’re going to need you for when the Cullens come.”
“What?” Jasper looked at his brother. “They’re coming?”
“Emmett and Rosalie are on their way too, for protection and helping to get rid of the rest of them,” he said before turning to Bella and Isaac. “Hey, maybe you two should go to the mayor and give her a heads up that a bunch of vampires are coming to town. Ones that are sparkly and might attract some attention.”
“Oh no,” Bella shook her head. “You go. You’re our boss, you go. And while you’re at it, go have a chat with our sheriff, who’s not happy with more supernaturals in town.”
“Well, we could all avoid this by going some place less secure, to keep the humans of Mystic Falls happy,” Peter shrugged. “It’s not too late to divert your brother to some other place, either.”
“Pack your bags, you two, we’re going to New Orleans,” Myriam smiled widely. “Klaus has enough room for sleepovers, and if not, I know places you can stay. It’s like the most secure place there is, loads of vampires for protection and New Orleans is used to supernatural warfare.”
Bella looked at her friends and slowly nodded. It was the better option. For Mystic Falls and for her, because while she invited Derek over, she wasn’t really sure yet about opening her new home for him. A place that she and Isaac still had to get used to themselves. “Only if Klaus doesn’t mind,” she pointed out, but Myriam already handed Bella her phone with the conversation showing that Klaus would rather have them come to New Orleans to keep Mystic Falls safe, too. “Well, okay then,” she let out a breath as she took her phone and texted her brother that they were going to New Orleans instead, and that he needed to go there himself.
I am not going anywhere near you and Isaac until you’ve talked about your… situation. That was my plan for coming to Mystic Falls too. Only arrive when you’ve talked about it. Did you two manage to do that yet?
“Motherfucker,” Bella scowled as she gently elbowed Isaac. “We can’t leave, apparently, not until we’ve talked, so let’s go to our home.”
“Is it something I did?” Isaac wondered out loud as he followed her back upstairs. “I mean… it’s not something bad, is it? We’re good, right? Are you having second thoughts? Already?”
Oh, of course his head went straight for the anxiety and his issues with trust and that same anxiety. “No, Isaac, it’s not something bad. Don’t worry, but we do need to talk about something but without them.” She gently took his hand as she continued to lead him up the stairs.
Oh god, what if her admission would send him running?
