Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Claws

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 10:

“What are you three doing here?!” Bella shouted, approaching the Cullens slowly.

Jasper raised his hands in peace.

“We were invited and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see the master at work. Or is it Mistress?”

“Invited? I didn’t invite you anywhere! None of you! You took my kill! How the hell did you even track me from Forks?!” she asked, getting within striking distance and a small part of her liked that they all took a step back.

“Your history teacher.” Jasper told her, lowering his arms. “He dropped a note after you walked out, asking us to come to the crime scene. When we got there you were gone and the Connolly guy asked if we would follow your trail from a distance and watch your back. He seemed to be of the mind that you were going to leave them behind and attack a vampire. Guess since they couldn’t keep up, he wanted someone to make sure you weren’t being led into a trap.”

Bella took that in, not knowing what to say. Connolly? Of course Connolly. Vampires were hers and he knew that. They could help on other creatures but they couldn’t keep up with her over the terrain.

He thought she needed help? What a damn idiot! Infuriating, interfering, stubborn bastard!

“I don’t work for Gavin, Connolly or any of the other humans.” she told the vampires. “You shouldn’t either. Stay out of this. Do you have any idea how much danger you could all be in if my people know you exist? Your blonde vampire was right! You are all in danger. Those humans had no right to ask and you all had no right to follow me. Edward! You annoyed me the least out of all of them! Why did you go along with this?”

Edward shrugged his shoulders. “Peer pressure?”

Bella turned and swung at a large tree, shaking it from the round up and sending birds scattering. The girl walked quickly in circles pulling her own hair.

“Idiots! I could have turned on you! Don’t you get it?! My kind are designed to kill your kind or die trying!”

“But you didn’t.” Emmett pointed out with a large smile. “You recognized that we were your best buddies…”

“I don’t like you!”

“Sure you don’t.” he told her, still smiling to her greater irritation. “That’s why you have kept our existence a secret from whatever is going on. Must be why you don’t want us to know more about you because we might want to help you out of whatever trouble you are in. By the way, nice suit. Got a real Catwoman vibe going on. Do you have a whip?”

Bella stopped her pacing.

“Who the hell is Catwoman?” she asked.

Even Edward was surprised by this. “Catwoman? Batman?”

“What the hell is a Batman?”

“My God, she did grow up underground.” Emmett whispered. “Look, your friends asked us to watch your back. We didn’t mean to cut into your… fun. Yeah, maybe you might have attacked us but we could handle it.”

Bella growled quietly and bent to the ground, scooping up an eyeball. She tossed it to the largest vampire.

“I wasn’t lying. I go for the eyes first. You felt risking blindness was worth handling it?”

Hearing no answer and becoming angrier by the second at the smiles the males had on their faces, Bella decided it was time to leave.

“Since you are working with my support team, take the heads so they can identify who these two are. Someone made them and I have to find out who. When I do,stay out of my way or I will attack. One way or the other, we won’t bother each other again.”

Bella took off quickly, leaving the three men alone.

“I am truly glad I couldn’t read her mind right then.” Edward admitted. “She did not look happy.”

“I’m glad I’m not this Connolly guy.” Emmett pointed out. “Jasper have you ever seen anything like her? She was savage. I could barely keep up with her. She tore a newborn vampire to shreds.”

Jasper nodded. He was impressed with what he saw and a bit concerned as well. Bella did not just grow up in some secret lab. She was 17 years old. The discipline she fought with was one many vampires took centuries to learn. She was quiet and precise. The shifters he had encountered before in his travels all turned into large animals and attacked like animals. She attacked like a cold blooded assassin. Bella was not as strong as a Newborn and never pretended to be. Despite this she did lose herself in battle, blending the fighting style of humans with the natural predator instincts that made up half of who she was.

“I’ve never seen anything like that Emmett. We have to know more.”

Edward titled his head to the side and grimaced. “You think that is a good idea? I doubt she is going to volunteer anymore information. Not even Meow Mix is going to get her to our lunch table now. That was a bad joke by the way Emmett. Poor taste.”

“Let’s take some photos of the heads and burn these body pieces.” Jasper ordered. “She may not tell us anymore but the humans care about her or they would have never asked for help from vampires. They know everything.”

“So we force it out of them?” Emmett asked. “Edward can’t read their minds either.”

Jasper shook his head. “Force it out? Emmett, they want to tell us. They want our help. If Bella won’t come over for dinner, maybe its time we invited those guys over.”

Bella arrived at the original crime scene twenty minutes later and marched up to Charlie.

“Get in the car. There were two and their maker could still be around. Drive home and I will follow on foot to make sure you aren’t trailed.”

“Bella…”

“Now!”

Seeing her suit was not torn and she had no injuries to his face, the man felt perhaps he should do as requested. She was glaring at Connolly now and he had a feeling he did not want to be in the man’s place at the moment. Once Charlie had pulled off, Bella stepped closer to the team leader.

“You and your men are done. Get out, go back to whatever you were doing before. I have had it. I have told you over and over again I don’t need saving. You don’t listen. Leave, stay the hell out of my way, do we understand each other?”

Connolly shrugged his shoulders. “Fuck you, I’ll do what I want. That a good enough answer for you? You bring in another team, they are going to figure out that little kill switch in your head is gone. Then they will come after us. You don’t want that on you so you won’t say a word. We are going to take down your Organization and save a lot of kids lives. You want to fight until you die, go for it. It won’t stop me from going after them. Decide if you want to be a part of saving kids from your fate or you just want to be a damn weapon who can’t think for herself.”

Bella turned from him and crossed her arms, hoping her claws did not involuntarily appear.

“You sent vampires to back me up?” she asked quietly. “Do you have any idea how stupid that was? How could you?”

The man shrugged his shoulders. “If it comes to keeping you alive, I’ll take all the help I can trust. Whether you admit it or not, you trust them or you would have gone after them by now. I made the call and I will do it again. I don’t give a damn how much they know about your bosses.”

“It isn’t your place to save me! I fight, I kill. That is it. You cannot protect me from that!”

Connolly walked around from her back and looked her in the eyes.

“You think Julie would want us to protect you? I’m betting she would.”

Bella grabbed the man and threw him to the ground, letting a roar loose that sent all wildlife for miles scattering.

“Yeah, glad you agree.” he told her, sitting up. “So I’m going to keep doing it. When you want to hop on board the winning team, let me know but I am taking those bastards down one way or another. Shouldn’t you make sure nothing is tracking your Dad back to Forks? Better be careful. You sure are starting to act like a concerned daughter and not the weapon you claim to be. Emotions can be a bitch, can’t they?”

Bella ran before she completely lost control. She caught up with Charlie on the road quickly, not hard since the man was driving slowly. Not catching any scents she circled the area on both sides of the road until she could be certain her cover wasn’t followed. She wanted to make sure her cover was intact and begin searching missing persons reports, try and track down this vampire making newborns and leaving them loose. That was all that mattered at the moment.

La Push

“Leah?” Harry called, knocking on the girl’s door.

“Yeah Dad, come in,”

She had been leaned against her headboard all day, watching television, rubbing her chest and wishing the ache would go away. Thirty minutes ago she felt something stronger, not pain but a feeling she couldn’t pinpoint.

Leah had also been thinking of reasons to drop by and see Bella Swan. The girl was a mystery to her, socially awkward and scarred from something that had nothing to do with the lies she tried to pass off. Leah knew Bella had been lying. The girl was a mystery to her, strong but shy, hurt yet beautiful, small but fierce and strong.

“You feel okay?” Harry asked his daughter. “Your chest still hurting? Maybe its time we saw a doctor.”

Leah shook her head. “My chest stopped hurting days ago.” she lied, not knowing why. “I’m feeling fine. Why do you ask?”

Harry grinned at his daughter. “Sam may have mentioned to me that there is a party tonight, on the downlow. Isn’t that what you kids call it? He said he asked you to come and you said no. I thought you might not be feeling okay. Everything alright between you two?”

Leah clenched her teeth and balled her fists for a moment.

“Sam is telling you that I don’t want to go to a party? Where does he get off talking about me to you? Why are you listening?”

Harry sat on the side of her bed. “I just want to see you happy and I know you have been happy. Sam is a good guy and concerned about you. He is worried that something might be bothering you. Since you wouldn’t tell him, maybe you might tell me.”

“Sam is my boyfriend, not my owner.” Leah told her Dad. “Don’t speak to him about me again. If he has a problem, he can ask me. As for this so called party its filled with losers and I am not interested. I would think that would make you happy.”

Harry stayed quiet for a moment and decided she had a point. Sam was just concerned. He was probably the best thing to ever happen to Leah and wanted her happy.

“Okay. So I haven’t gotten a chance to ask you, how did hanging out with Bella Swan go on Saturday? Charlie told me she was a bit shy.”

Leah smiled. “It was great actually. She loosened up the longer I was there. She was fun to be around. I could tell she was nervous at first but I felt really comfortable around her. I can’t explain it. It felt like we had known each other for a while.”

Harry nodded his head thoughtfully, wondering if she should bring it up to Leah.

“Sam mentioned he spoke to some friends in Forks about her. Did she say anything about being… different… romance wise?”

Leah looked hard at her father, trying to read the intent behind his question.

“Romance wise? You mean that she is gay?”

Harry actually winced, causing Leah to become uncharacteristically angry. She had always been a Daddy’s girl. It took a lot for her to be upset with her father.

“So she is.” Harry whispered. “That’s too bad.”

Leah couldn’t believe what he had just said. But after taking a moment, she shouldn’t have been surprised. Her father lived a sheltered life on the Rez as well.

“Its not like she has a terminal disease Dad. What is so bad about her being gay?”

Harry shook his head sadly. “Charlie has missed out on her while life. I was kind of hoping he might be a granddad one day. Her being gone so much, never coming to visit the area, I know it hurt him. He was kind of vague talking about her. That might explain it. I imagine Charlie has the same feelings I do… it doesn’t matter. You might not want to spend much time with her. She seems like she could be… trouble. Who knows what things that girl got up to living with Renee with no dad around.”

Leah began to feel sick in her stomach. She hated the idea of her father talking about Bella this way. She hardly knew the girl but the idea of a man she loved judging her without knowing her, making assumptions, hit her strong.

“Dad, please tell me you don’t think she is bad news because she is gay. You aren’t like that… are you?”

Harry flinched at her words, her accusation. “Of course not. I’m just saying to be careful around her. Big city girl and all that. You sure you don’t want to go to this party? I’ll cover for you with your Mom.”

“Maybe you should be Sam’s date. The two of you seem to be close. I’m good where I am.”

Harry stood up, not quite certain what to say in response to that. Instead he smiled and bid her goodnight, explaining he had to be at work early in the morning.

Leah put her head in her hands after he left, thankful the man wasn’t a mind reader. She could imagine his reaction if he knew of her dream about Bella from the night before, how she couldn’t stop thinking about her, the images of her in her head, over and over again.

He would be mortified if he knew what he thought of her physically. What she wanted to do, things she had never done before with anyone, male or female. Leah had never been interested in acts of affection. She appreciated that about Sam. He was a good kisser and his hands wandered occasionally but he never forced the issue or went beyond what she was comfortable with.

Despite their relationship and the physical displays Leah had never felt much in the way of passion, at least as far as romance novel passion went. The girl thought it just wasn’t in her to feel such things, so she let it go.

That changed when she saw Bella and Leah had absolutely no idea what to do about it. Her father had inadvertently made his feelings clear on the matter though. She could imagine his reaction if he knew she had even briefly thought of leaving the symbol of La Push’s bright future for a white female.

There was no point in thinking about what to do. Leah knew what she could do.

Nothing.

Except maybe see Bella more and get over whatever this infatuation was for a girl she hardly knew.

Forks

The girl on Leah’s mind was in her bedroom sitting in complete silence. She had not stopped shaking from anger, anger at the feelings in her heart, anger at Connolly’s words, anger at being alive in a way.

He had to bring Julie in this. Julie wouldn’t want Bella protected. The two had talked about this before the Italian mission. It was their lot in life to fight and die and no matter what, they would go together.

Bella was still waiting for her turn. She wished she would have begged not to come here. The girl wanted to be anywhere, anywhere but here, the one place that showed her the kind of life she could have had. This was not going the way she expected. Everything felt out of control. She was fascinated by the world but feared living in it. She should have hated the golden eyed vampires but admitted she liked them on some level. They were different and she didn’t understand why. She should have been dreaming about Julie but instead she dreamt about a girl she had only met twice, one who invaded her sleep with fantasies Bella knew she should not be having. Then there was this damn ache in her chest that only went away when she was near the fantasy girl in question. She only had her mission, her purpose. Bella killed bad things that went bump in the night. That was the only thing that made sense to her anymore.

Her phone rang. Bella picked it up to decline the call, no doubt from one of her team members. She felt a chill however when she recognized the number.

This was one call she could not turn down.

“Hello?”

“Hello, my Bella.” greeted her… Dr. Erin Hildebrand, the American scientist and head of the Jaguar program. Though there were many different scientist and operations managers they all reported to her. In the Rainforest, she was the true Queen.

“Our operations manager just received a report. You have been there less than three weeks and already given us a Sasquatch and two vampires, gone from existence. I am so proud of you.”

“Thank you.” Bella answered quietly, starting to shake as she often did around this woman.

“Bella, has civilian life already made you forget who we are?”

“No, I meant thank you, Mother. I was asleep. Forgive my manners.”

“Of course. I am sure taking out two vampires would make even someone as strong as you exhausted. I did not just call to congratulate you. I have some information to share, to keep you abreast of. Would you like me to call back later? We can talk in the morning if you prefer?”

Bella shook her head. She didn’t want to talk to her in the morning or now. She needed to get this over with.

“Of course not Mother. I am awake.”

“Excellent. I have some disturbing bits of news but I have no doubt you are strong enough to hear this. The remaining girls from your team have all died in the field. I know you were close and I am deeply saddened by this. Each one died fighting. They did glorious work for the betterment of mankind. You should be proud of them. They were so strong due in part to your leadership.”

Bella felt the urge to scream but held it in, hot tears running down her face. She had expected this, known that the girls would be killed but to hear it, from her of all people. She sounded… proud?

Bella composed herself as was expected. She wouldn’t let her hear the tears in her voice.

“Thank you, Mother.”

“Thank you, Bella. The world owes you a great debt and though humanity will never know of your sacrifice it is known among the people who matter. I have some information on our control subject as well, information that might affect you one day.”

Bella stood up and tensed then looked out the window. She checked the surrounding area with her vision and saw nothing. The girl had no reason to think she was being watched but the control subject was something that was never brought up. A Jaguar shifter kept out of the field, contained in the lab so the scientists could study the effects of aging on shifters. Since most all of them were dead by 19 from combat a control subject was needed.

“Four days after her twenty first birthday, the control subject began feeling a bit wilder I suppose you could say. By the end of the week she shifted completely into quite the large Jaguar. We were unable to communicate with her and she showed no inclination or ability to shift back to her human form. I am afraid she had to be terminated. The autopsy showed her DNA began mutating to the point that it overran her human traits. I don’t believe this will be a problem for you but the idea that it is possible concerns me. I am developing a procedure to negate the mutation and hope to have it perfected soon. However I am concerned that increased combat may lead to more animalistic tendencies. No one has fought and won against more enemies than you have my Bella. If you begin to feel a bit out of control, it is very important that you report to your support team at once. They will bring you in so I can stop this from happening. I will pass on this information to Connolly as well. Do not worry Bella. I will take care of you as I always do.”

“Thank you, Mother.” Bella told her almost robotically. She knew what take care of meant. Apparently the older she became the closer she would become to a complete animal. Weapons who could not think were not needed. If she was in danger of becoming a full Jaguar, they would put her down. “I doubt it will be a problem. The number of enemies in this area are great.”

“If anyone can survive, it is you Bella. How are things going with the human Charlie Swan?”

“He is adequate for cover. He leaves me alone.”

“I am thankful for that. I thought you may have killed him by now. And your support team? The US President assured us they were his best but they seem to be a bit undisciplined. Are you happy with them?”

Happy? No, Bella wasn’t happy at all.

“They are very good and were instrumental in my hunt for the Sasquatch.” she told her, the lie falling easily from her lips.

“Outstanding. I do have good news. I have discussed it with our board and we all agree that if you live to be 19, I would like to bring you in for a revolutionary breeding program.”

Bella nearly vomited. She had heard rumors of this type of program but dismissed them.

“I don’t understand Mother.”

She laughed quietly on the other end as if this was funny.

“We prefer control subjects but should you live to the age of 19 you will be the most accomplished killer in our history. Not even our so called Devil Dogs as you girls like to call them have had a member with greater numbers. Considering your genetic makeup, you would be the ideal candidate if you weren’t so badly needed in the field. Should you make it to 19 you will be pulled out. Consider it a reward to strive for.”

Bella said nothing, closing her eyes and holding her breath to hold back a sob.

“Bella? Are you still on the line?”

Bella cleared her throat.

“Yes, I am still here.”

“Relax Bella. I respect your sexual preferences. No intercourse will be involved. It will be a simple procedure to blend your off spring with a Lycan shifter. Perhaps one day you will give birth to a new race of protectors of humanity, ones that cannot be killed by any supernatural creatures. Of course you have many battles to win first. I could try and talk the board into bringing you in now if you prefer?”

“No Mother. I would prefer to fight.” she said lowly, almost a hiss.

“I thought you would say that. My Bella, the warrior. One other issue I need to discuss. I am aware of all your habits. The more you have fought the greater your baser urges have always been. I would prefer you not to have sex with a human. You may injure or kill a girl and that would put your cover in jeopardy. Would you like me to have one of our new class of Jaguars brought to you, say once a month? I am sure one of the new warriors could use a break from the field to spend time with a legend such as yourself.”

Bella nearly broke the phone, her muscles tensed to the point of pain. Her incisors dropped and her eyes shifted.

“I… I am better alone. I need to focus my energies on my battles.”

“Are you certain? I can tell by your voice that your incisors have dropped. There is nothing wrong with desire Bella. You can talk about it with me. Is there anyone who knows you better than I do? Never be ashamed to ask me for something you want. I let you have Julie, remember?”

Bella forced her incisors back, strained to prevent her hands and toes from shifting.

“I can… I can take care of my more primal urges myself.” Bella told her. She felt humiliated but it was not the first time. It was true, growing up she had no secrets from this woman. She made her. She knew Bella better than Bella knew herself.

Hildebrand tortured her, injected her with vampire venom, cut her to test her healing factor, made her eat raw meat from the forest for weeks at a time and told her it was because she loved her. Being humiliated by the woman was nothing new.

She wanted so much to kill the woman, but to kill her would be to kill herself essentially and though she was not afraid of death, even expecting it every time she fought, Bella was not suicidal.

“Excellent idea. I will be busy with our newest subjects over the next few months but should you begin to feel the slightest bit strange, have your team contact me immediately. There is nothing to fear. I believe that you can survive and make your way back home to me one day. Fight hard Bella. I love you.”

Bella closed her eyes and whispered the words she had been coerced into saying long ago when she was too young to know better.

“I love you too, Mother.”

The call ended and Bella dropped her phone, frozen in place.

Then she roared, loud enough the walls shook and her window shattered. She fell to her knees and cried. Bella felt like a child but could not help it. Wrapping her arms around her knees she rocked back and forth, trying to control her breathing.

“Bella?”

It was Charlie.

Bella knew she should tell him to go away, to leave her alone.

Instead she kept crying.

The man slowly walked forward and knelt on the floor beside. Seeing she was not resisting, he wrapped his arms around her and to both their surprises Bella leaned into him.

Charlie began held her tightly and rubbed the back of her head gently.

“You don’t have to say anything. Let it out.” he whispered.

Bella looked up at him through watery eyes and the compassion on his face made her want to cry harder.

“I wish you weren’t so nice.” the girl told him.

“Why?” he asked.

“I wouldn’t miss what I could have had so much if you weren’t nice.”

Charlie could think of nothing to say so didn’t. He continued holding her until she passed out from exhaustion. Picking her up he gently lay her on the bed and covered her then sat in the corner rocking chair, watching her breathe. He would leave before she woke but not now. Right now he couldn’t.

At the Cullen Mansion the vampires had gathered, prepared for their guest. Carlisle had received a call an hour ago asking if it would be okay to visit. Carlisle assured him quickly and eagerly that it was more than okay.

None of them were worried about danger. There was no need to. From the report given by the three sons, it became obvious that Bella was no threat to them. She was no mindless shifter and this man obviously cared if he would ask vampires for help.

Esme opened the door with a warm smile and moved aside so he could enter then led the way to the family room.

The man handed the thick file in his hands to Carlisle.

“I’m sure you know who I am by now. Name is Jason Connolly. I know all of you, or at least your names and latest fake backgrounds. My background isn’t exactly on the up and up either. You can read faster than I can talk so I have prepared this pack for you all to zip through. Its going to tell you everything about everything. Check it out then we can talk.”

In a blur the file moved around the room. It took less than a minute. Connolly was impressed. They didn’t just run fast.

Then the file lay open on a coffee table between the vampires.

He watched their faces carefully. The mother hen of the group’s eyes was red, the others blank as if not believing what they just read.

Except for Doctor Cullen. He was no stoic or blurry eyed.

He was angry.

“Scientists… doctors, they did this? They made these little girls, these babies… I need a moment.”

The group sat in silence and all of them flinched, even Connolly when a sharp growl came from outside followed by what sounded like a tree torn out of the ground.

Carlisle came back after a few minutes.

The man paced the room, anger radiating off of him.

Finally he sat.

“Why did you show us this?”

“I’m earning more about them every day. I don’t think they are actually a branch of the UN but have people in every government in high places pushing this through and hiding its true nature from the leaders of the World. From what my lead investigator has determined so far, we think this goes back farther than the UN. This Organization may hold influence over the world but I think they are older than any nation that exists today. I haven’t discovered their agenda yet. I don’t believe they want to just kill threats to humans. There has to be more. I plan to take down the whole thing or die trying. I am going to need help. I need people to keep Bella alive until I can get her free. I need all of you. Carlisle, I am going to need s surgeon one day, hopefully soon. I need your help. All of your help. Unless we stop this, more kids are going to be taken from their cribs everyday and turned into weapons.”

“How are we supposed to keep Bella alive if she doesn’t want our help?” Jasper asked.

“Do what I do, give it anyway. The longer she is away from them, the more she is beginning to think for herself. She is scared, sad and angry right now. That’s going to change. I am going to make sure of it. We all are. So, are you in?”

“Yes we are.” Rosalie told him. Connolly saw her face was no longer stoic. Now she looked very angry. Just as he thought, they were human where it counted.

“We will keep her alive.” Jasper told him. “I have resources for information, we have money, we have firepower. We can form an army if we have to. We aren’t the only ones of our kind who care about human life. Whatever you need, we are in.”

“I can read minds.” Edward offered. “Get me close to someone and I can tell you every thought in their head.”

Connolly looked at the Doctor.

“I’ve never killed a human in all my existence.” he told Connolly. “You get me close to these monsters and they will be the first.”

Connolly smiled.

“Looks like our team just got bigger. Welcome aboard guys.”