Part 4: Confrontation

Gone were the beasts of coarse fur, fangs and claws.  Behind Jasper, the Quileutes had changed back to their human forms—tall, muscular and half-dressed.  Each and every one of them was set on one goal.  The Cullen home was not much farther, and still no word of Alice.  If, as Sam had said, Rosalie had been captured, then why hadn’t Alice reappeared?  Jasper had nothing but questions.  He kept his eyes on the house, flooded with light and illuminating the surrounding grounds.  Even though he didn’t know where Emmett could possibly be, one thing was sure: Carlisle and Esme were home, and they would soon be welcoming quite a few unexpected guests.

Before opening the door, Jasper turned back to Sam.

“Remember, no tricks,” Jasper said with authority, “no one here will hurt you without a reason to do so.”

“We’ll see,” Sam responded simply as the front door opened before them, revealing a warm and welcoming light.  Carlisle was there, his face calm but inquiring.  He looked over the group assembled on his porch and then looked at his son.

“Good evening,” he said to all of them politely, “Jasper, what’s going on?”

“We have to let them in, Carlisle.  We’ll explain everything, but right now they have to come inside.  I invited them.”

A surprised look quickly changed to worry on Carlisle’s face, but he complied and stood aside to let their guests enter.  Jasper came in first and stood close to his father, a weary eye passing over each of the wolf-men that came into his home.  Standing in the middle of the room was Esme, who greeted the pack with a nod of her head.  She was still in her elegant evening gown, a red that accented the gold of her eyes and the paleness of her skin.  The couple must have just gotten home, Carlisle hadn’t even taken off his coat.

The door closed after the last Quileute, one that the family had never seen before: smaller than the others, but with greenish-brown eyes that gazed piercingly around the room.

“You are the only ones here?” Sam asked Carlisle.

“Well, Edward and Bella are at their cottage,” Carlisle responded calmly, “Rosalie and Emmett are out hunting this evening, and Alice… where is Alice?”

Jasper did not respond, but walked to the large bay window in the living room to watch for the slightest sign of his wife.  Outside, all was quiet.  A light rain was beginning to fall as Sam took the floor:

“One of your coven trespassed on our land this evening and attacked Jacob.”

“What?” Esme was shocked, “Jacob is hurt?”  She joined Carlisle close to the front door.

“That’s impossible,” Carlisle denied Sam, sure that it could never be one of his family.

“He’s telling the truth,” Jasper said, turning quickly from the window.  The rain began to pelt down harder.  “Tonight Rosalie attacked Jacob.”

“She tried to divert our attention by setting fire to his garage,” added one of the Quileutes, his face strained by anger and fatigue.

“What would she have done that?” asked Carlisle.  “And Jacob, is he alright?  He’s not…”

“He’ll live.”

Upstairs, a heavy sound made everyone raise their eyes.  Jasper understood immediately that Emmett was back from his hunt.  In less than two seconds Emmett appeared at the top of the stairs, just as surprised as his father to see the pack of Quileutes.

“You guys are partying without me?” Emmett asked nonchalantly as he walked downstairs.  “Okay, what did Bella do?  Or I guess I should ask, what hasn’t she done?”

He chuckled for a moment before seeing the disbelief in everyone’s eyes.
The rain fell harder.  A bolt of lightning sliced through the sky, lighting up the forest in a bright flash.  A few seconds later, a low growl broke through the thick silence.

“What’s going on here?” Emmett asked as he joined his parents, looking to Jasper who was still standing by the window.

“Emmett, you went out hunting with Rosalier tonight, right?” Carlisle asked, “Where is she?”

“We got separated after I took down my first prey.  She said she had to come back for something she forgot…”

“Your woman is a liar!” shouted the young Quileute with green eyes.  He made a menacing advance toward the largest vampire.

Immediately, Emmett bared his teeth, raging.  Jasper made a move to intervene.  He couldn’t stand at the window forever, waiting for Alice to arrive and to explain her vision.

“Emmett, he’s right,” Jasper said, “Rosalie lied to you.  Alice had a vision tonight, she saw Edward and Rosalie arguing, preparing to fight.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” his brother asked.

“In her vision, she saw Renesmée.  Apparently Rosalie had kidnapped her and Edward had come to make her pay.”

“How is that possible?” Esme murmured.

“There’s no way,” Carlisle said.

“I don’t believe you!” Emmett spit.

“Neither did Alice, until she had a second vision,” Jasper added, trying to work through all the emotions he could feel around him.  “She saw a werewolf fall, and then Rosalie ran with Renesmée.  When Alice remembered that Renesmée was with Jacob tonight, she put two and two together and realized that her vision was real…”

“Rosalie took Nessie?!” Emmett protested.  “Alice can’t even see werewolves, or Renesmée, in her visions.  You’ve got it wrong.  Why would Rosalie do such a thing?”

“Because she couldn’t stand seeing the little one with one of us, and because she’s a filthy bloodsucker!” shouted the young man with green eyes.

A fury rose in Emmett like mercury rises in a thermometer left outside at midday.  The thunder crashed around them making the entire house shake.

“Filthy dog!” the vampire roared.

The Quileute transformed into a creature three times his own human size and jumped forward.

“Colin, no!” cried Sam, trying to stop him.

Yet the most improbable of the group stepped between them, blocking the werewolf: Esme.  Protecting her son, she placed herself in front of him, a roar vibrating through her entire body and a look of intense rage.

For the first time, only a few steps from her, Jasper found Esme terrifying—and he was sure that he was not the only one.

“We have invited you into our home as friends,” she reminded the werewolf, who remained confrontational as his black fur stood on end. “I forbid you to try and attack one of my children, I forbid you to even think of it.”

For a moment, no one dared say anything.  Esme and the young Colin contined to stare at each other, not moving from their combative stances.  Around them, Emmett, Carlisle, Same and the other Quileutes waited for calm to return.

The storm outside continued to rumble, adding to the tension.

Suddenly Jasper’s lifeless heart tightened.  Alice… he turned to the bay window and saw her from afar, running and dripping with rain.

“Alice,” he murmured.

Ignoring everything around him, Jasper ran across the living room at high speed and left the house.  He could barely feel the rain pounding down as he embraced the small body of the one he loved more than life.  She pulled him to her and swiftly found his lips.  They kissed passionately, never wanting to let go again, and let the rain wash away all other emotions.

“Where did you go?” Jasper asked, “Did you find Rosalie and Renesmée?”

“We’ll find them,” Alice promised, pulling away from him reluctantly.  “While we wait, we have to go tell Edward and Bella.”

“I thought you didn’t want them to know, to give Rosalie a chance to explain herself.”

“I had another vision, Jasper,” Alice responded, “They have to know.  Rosalie isn’t the only one that might lose her life.”