Chapter Seventeen

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Another Rescue Mission to Italy… Hope We Get There In Time

We flew into Italy less than twenty-four hours later; and for me it had been the longest day in my life. We had called on Hayley and she said that she was physically okay, that she had felt odd but hadn’t experienced any physical pain. This confused me but Carlisle explained it away, saying that the bond between Jacob and I was probably stronger because of the time we had been together, but I wasn’t totally convinced. We waited for the few wolves without familial obligations to arrive from Forks. It turned out to be Brady, Collin and Will; all of who were eager to assist in destroying the vampires who had stolen members of their family. I had suffered several more bouts of ‘transferred pain’ and was being watched closely by my family, especially Carlisle whose concern was noted by my dad. I was exhausted but I was also determined and, even without my fathers’ ability to read minds, my family knew this and they didn’t bring up my exhaustion. After we touched down in Italy we made our way to Voltera. We set up base camp; that was what it was called according to Jasper, on the outskirts of Voltera and went about setting our rescue operation into effect. We were pretty certain that they had at least one wolf within the city because Alice couldn’t see any of the Volturi and the only things, or so she said, that could do that was a Halfling or a wolf, she had trouble seeing others when I was with them, so I guess she was right. We wanted to ascertain if they had all of the wolves hidden within Voltera and since we couldn’t just walk through those imposing city gates and ask and our best offensive weapon was flying blind, so to speak, we sent our next best weapons within the walls of the enemy city; my parents. The minute they left our side I started to pace. Not only did they have the other half of my soul but they might also have my parents, the only consolation was that together they would have advanced warning against danger, thanks to my dad, and against any mental torture –a preferred method of the Volturi - my mother could cover them both but it still didn’t make the fact that they were only two against a legion any easier to swallow. The wolves that were with us made it impossible for Alice to see how this was going to work out and I hadn’t realise until that exact point how much our family relied on her visions to make sure everything would work out.

Speaking of the wolves that were with us, they were still learning to fight the repulsion that was inbred through generation upon generation of fighting our kind rather than working with us, they had remained in human form for the majority of the time they had been with us and I knew that they were itching to cut loose and go for a run. I turned my attention towards them and said “Collin, Brady, Will why don’t you guys go for a hunt. There isn’t anything we can do until my parents get back and even then we’re not sure what we can do, if anything.” Collin, who had assumed the role of Alpha while away from the pack, stood considering me for several long seconds before he spoke “We will go for a hunt but I want your promise that you will rest while we are gone. If you can feel Jacobs’ pain then he can probably feel your strength, if you’re dead on your feet how will that help?” I swallowed the acerbic retort that bubbled up within my throat, I wanted to help Jacob and if Collin thought rest would help than that was what I do. So sighing loudly in the quiet room I agreed to his terms “Fine I’ll rest but don’t expect me to enjoy it!” the wolf pack barked their laughter in unison and what was left of my family snickered to show their amusement. The trio of wolves went out of the room and phased before racing toward the forest behind us, as they flew away from us Alice sighed in relief, I shot her a look and she said “Sorry it just makes everything so much easier to see.” I nodded and sitting in a nearby chair I curled up and closed my eyes.

I had only meant to rest my eyes but the lack of sleep that I had suffered and the effect of the transferred pain had taken toll on me and when I woke up it was dark and there was murmuring voices coming from another room in the small house we had commandeered as our headquarters. At first I had trouble distinguishing voices but as sleep faded and alertness replaced the exhaustion from earlier I was able to discriminate to whom the voices belonged. The rougher, deeper voices belonged to the wolf pack from Forks, the varying high-ringing tones belonged to my family, and then there were a third set of voices. These voices I didn’t recognise but I could tell two things straight away about our guests, one they weren’t vampires and two they were locals. Realising that I was no longer in the chair that I had curled up in downstairs and that I was in fact in a bedroom upstairs I checked my appearance within the mirror hanging over the small dresser and seeing that I look at least presentable I hurried out of the room. I figured the voices were coming from the small kitchen at the rear of the downstairs so I headed in that direction. I was at the foot of the stairs when one of the voices, a woman’s, said “What is that noise? I thought you said that there were no humans here.” I continued my course and reached the door as my father answered, relief that he and my mother had made it back safely was overwhelming, and ignoring the fact that there were people in there that I didn’t know I raced across the small space and threw myself into his arms, crying “Daddy your back.” I wrapped my arms tightly around his marble smooth next and hugged hard; I was beyond relieved that they were back. I released him and crossed to my mother’s side where I snuggled in close to her while observing the stunned looks from the new-comers to our group.

My father chuckled as he read the thoughts of the people within the room, he grinned at the astounded faces of the Italian wolf pack before saying “The noise you heard is our daughter Renesmee, as you can no doubt already tell she is not a vampire, not totally, she is a Halfling and the reason we are here. Jacob, whom we already spoke of, is her imprinter and the others that have been taken are part of his pack and so part of our family. Nessie these are Joseph, Antonio and Luciana they are from the local wolf-pack, your mother and I came across them as we were searching Voltera for Jacob and the others. Luca was telling us before your, enthusiastic, entrance that three of their number had also been taken, and that they had been trying for the better half of a week to find a weakness to exploit but they have been unsuccessful.” I leant forward and shook the hands of the three unexpected allies, they all wore expressions of disbelief and in Luca’s case outright scepticism, their scent was off and I couldn’t quite put my finger on why but I took a deep breath and said “Welcome, we need all the help we can get. We are flying a little more... blind than we’d like but we are prepared and any information you can give us would be appreciated.” The trio noticed my slight pause but none of them commented but I was hesitant in how much information I was supposed to be giving them.

Once they had gotten over my abrupt entrance the conversation returned to the breaching of Voltera’s walls, the dangerous trip my parents had undertaken had paid off handsomely. They had been able to get close enough for my dad to ‘hear’ whether or not they had the people we were seeking and it was while doing this that they had found out about the three extra captives the Volturi had acquired. I was weak in the knees with relief at hearing that for now Jacob was alive and so were the others we sought. Continuing his story Dad told us how they had gone in search for the tribe to which these extra wolves had belonged, they had taken quite a lot of persuading especially considering their natural abhorrence of our kind. Once they had been persuaded they had sent their three best fighters to our aid with express conditions that this was a one-time offer, fighting together was a once in a life-time thing. I was feeling better with the knowledge that we had extra fighters at our disposal and for the first time since Jacob had been taken I felt confident that I would see him again.  The conversation around the room was breaking into smaller components and I found myself being confronted by Luca. She cornered me away from everyone else, saying “How are you even alive? What are you and what gives you the right to belong to a member of a wolf-pack?”

I was taken aback by her attack on me but I understood where it came from, Leah had once yelled something similar to me and when that had happened Jacob had stood in front of me and protected me from her anger. He had said to her ‘Renesmee is mine and I am hers, she chose me and I chose her, we are meant to be and nothing will keep us apart. You understand the imprinting Leah, you of all people should know that no matter what when you meet that special person that is it, it doesn’t matter who they are or even what they are, they are your life and nothing else matters.’ I smiled slightly at the memory and it was this that I channelled as I spoke to the angry young woman in front of me “I am a Halfling, my mother conceived and carried me while human, my father is a vampire and I have several vampiric traits but I have many human traits as well. Jacob is my life, my husband and nothing and no-one will stop me from getting to him, I love him and he loves me. We belong together and if you understand the imprinting that happens within your tribes then you know that we didn’t actually have a choice, it was together or nothing.” I watched as Luca tried to find an ulterior motive behind my explanation but before she could voice them I was struck by another wave of pain.

Crying out I doubled over in agony, there were hands holding me and guiding me to the nearby sofa where they pressed me into the soft fabric of the chair. I looked up through my pain and saw the sad eyes of my mother. She crouched down and whispered to me “I am so sorry that this is happening Renesmee, if I had’ve been strong enough to leave Forks and Jacob I wouldn’t be seeing you in so much pain and agony.” I grimace, for it couldn’t be called a smile, and said “Don’t worry Momma, I would have found Jacob even if you hadn’t been friends. He is my sun, I can’t grow and I can’t live without him.” My mother turned clouded topaz eyes to me and said “I know exactly how you feel, it is the way I feel about your father.” She sighed and there was something hidden in that sigh, something that I couldn’t quite grasp “What’s the matter Momma?” She sighed again and fluidly rose to her feet, she started to pace up and down in front of my chair and I was momentarily distracted by her beauty. She and I were the same height, we had the same build and I had been told that when she had been human that her eyes were the exact shade that mine were now, but that was where the similarities ended. She was so beautiful, her skin gleaming like diamond infused silk and her gorgeous hair hung down her back in a gleaming curtain, I always felt pale and insignificant next to my mother. I knew I was considered beautiful by my family but I just couldn’t see how, when compared to them, they could say that. My skin had a nice glow to it, even though it was alabaster white, my eyes were a nice chocolate brown colour and my hair was the same bronze colour as my dad’s and I was soft but in a tough sort of way. I shook myself out of my self-induced comparison and focused more on the pacing my mother was doing, she finally stopped in front of me and said “I understand the all consuming love you have for Jacob; I do but I also know how it feels to lose that love. I don’t want you to go through what I went through when you’re father went away, thinking it was the best thing for me, it almost killed me and I would do anything to prevent you feeling that type of pain.”

I sat shocked as she talked to me so openly, I mean not that we haven’t always had an open relationship but momma was one of these people that found it hard to talk about their feelings, I understood what she was telling me but I already knew that I couldn’t handle losing Jacob so I said “It is impossible for me not to love him, I can’t think properly when he isn’t near me, and no matter what anyone says Jacob and I belong together, I know where you’re coming from but can’t you understand where I’m coming from?” She nodded her head so swiftly that anyone else would have missed it, before saying “I do understand where you’re coming from sweetheart, more than you know.” She pulled me closer and kissed my forehead. “I will be here for you for as long as you need me.” I smiled up at her through my tears and said wetly “I will always need you Momma.” We sat holding hands and not moving as we watched the various sentient beings race around our make-shift home.

I had been sitting there beside momma for a while when Alice came up and spoke to us “We have decided to go and meet with the Volturi and ask them to give us back the wolves, Edward has told me to let you know so that you can go hunt and be prepared for tonight. Bella, he wanted you to take Renesmee and go with Emmett, he said she would be safer if she was with the two of you, he doesn’t want her too far from you if she is hit with another bout of pain, and since I can’t see what is going to happen he has decided to not let anyone go anywhere solo.” Both momma and I nodded as she danced away to take Jasper’s hand before flying out the door followed swiftly by Rose. I knew it was a ridiculous feeling in the face of the danger that we were facing but my heart beat a little faster with anticipation of seeing Jacob again, and having been present for the last battle between my family and the Volturi and knowing that we defeated them without bloodshed before buoyed my spirits. I could probably even have been jovial if it wasn’t for the bouts of pain that were coming in ever increasing frequency and intensity. I was glad that tonight was the last night that we would have to be without the rest of our family because I didn’t think that I could handle one more night.