CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
NOSEBLEEDS

After finally managing to convince Embry that they could take care of themselves in Forks, Montana and Dakota turned up at the Swan residence that evening.

The front door was unlocked, and Dakota announced their arrival by bursting inside, sending the heavy door slamming against the wall.

Jacob was in the hall within seconds, blocking their way inside the moment his worried eyes landed on Montana. His pulse quickened, the thought of his imprint standing in the same house as a vampire when he couldn't protect her sending his mind into panic overdrive.

"Get the hell out."

"Nice to see you too, Jacob," Dakota responded bitterly. She moved to side step him, but he threw his arm against the wall, trapping her in the hall. "Where is she?"

"You can't be here."

Dakota pushed past him. "I don't care."

Montana began to follow after her, but Jacob was quick to intercept her movements. He placed his hands firmly around her upper arms. "Montana, get back in the car."

Her eyes flickered up to meet his. The word 'no' had already formed on her lips, but once she caught the sincerity in his eyes, the worry, the overwhelming panic, she stopped herself.

"Alice Cullen is here," Jacob explained, his desperation to get his imprint away from Forks beginning to take hold. "This is their territory. The treaty says we can only defend on our own land. I can't protect you here."

"I'm not leaving Dakota to go in there alone," Montana told him, breaking out of his grasp.

Jacob, to his dismay, realised there was no reason arguing with either of the two girls, who both had their minds set on talking to Bella. He knew they were grieving Harry's death too, and they wanted answers. He could especially see the sadness behind Montana's eyes. They weren't as bright as usual, and it pained him to know how heartbroken she was.

Montana made her way into the lounge, coming to a stop beside her cousin, who was glaring at the short haired brunette girl sat beside Bella.

Alice Cullen wasn't entirely what Montana expected, though in retrospect she wasn't entirely sure what she fully expected from a vampire. The woman was small and petite, and looked too gentle and angelic to be considered a blood sucking monster.

The only vampire she'd met, Laurent, hadn't exactly set a high standard for them. Then again, by this point, he would have been trying to drink her blood –  Alice wasn't doing that yet, so they were already off to a much better start.

"Why are you here?" Dakota demanded. Montana tried not to cringe at the harshness in her tone, not wanting her to piss Alice off. Despite her small frame, Montana was certain she was capable of much more.

"Sorry, who are you?" Alice asked, tilting her head as she frowned at her. Her narrow eyes wandered curiously over Montana, who notably stood a few steps behind Dakota, fearful of approaching any closer.

Jacob stood barely inches away from Montana, his stance rigid and protective, poised ready if Alice so much as looked at her in the wrong way.

"I'm her best friend," Dakota responded curtly. "What are you doing here?"

Alice's eyes shifted towards the pale brunette, who sat opposite on the couch.

"They know," she informed quietly

"I saw a vision of Bella jumping off a cliff," Alice stated. "I thought she'd killed herself."

"Alice can see glimpses of the future," Bella explained, noticing the frown drawing on Montana's face. "Jacob pulled me out of the water."

Dakota whirled around to face Bella with an incredulous expression. "What the hell were you even doing cliff jumping in the first place?"

"Recreationally," Bella clarified with a small shrug. "It was...fun."

"Bella, do you know that Harry Clearwater is dead?" Montana asked, announcing her presence properly. "Because of Victoria."

Bella's shoulders sank lower, thinking about how hard Charlie would have been taking the news. She could tell that Montana and Dakota were visibly upset over his death, and why it happened. It was unlike Dakota to be teetering on a dangerous verge of exploding with anger, and the way Montana was glaring at Alice did not replicate her usual welcoming warmth.

"Okay, Bella, I need to talk to you," Dakota stated, turning to her. "Now."

Bella gave Alice a sheepish look before rising to her feet, following after Dakota into the hall. The door was pulled shut, but Montana knew that there was no keeping secrets in a house of two supernatural creatures with advanced hearing.

Jacob had naturally gravitated closer towards Montana, who was still staring at Alice, with a look he was unable to read.

"Why are you here?" Montana suddenly spoke. "Your family abandoned Bella."

"To protect her," Alice responded defensively. "She shouldn't know about our kind." Her golden coloured eyes narrowed on Jacob as she spoke. His jaw tensed. "Neither should you."

"Your kind," Montana started, taking a step towards her. She had absolutely no idea where all of this was coming from, but she couldn't stop the words from rolling off her tongue. There was something about being in the presence of Alice that aggravated her, made her feel protective. "Your kind killed one of ours. A good man. An innocent man–" Montana cut off, her voice threatening to crack with emotion.

Alice got to her feet. "We are nothing like Victoria."

Jacob took a confrontational step forwards, his eyes hardening on Alice, as if daring her to move any closer.

"You're still poison," Montana uttered. "To Bella. To us. To everyone."

"You don't even know me," Alice countered, her eyes narrowing at the girl.

"I know that Edward broke Bella's heart," Montana said. "And we were the ones who had to watch her wither away."

Alice stared at her for a moment, an almost dumbfounded look on her face at the sheer audacity of Montana. To put it simply, Alice wasn't used to being spoken to this way.

Jacob would have been smirking if he wasn't on such high alert.

"You don't know anything," Alice eventually told her, eyes directing towards Jacob. "Only what your mutts have told you."

Jacob's mouth curled into a snarl. "Watch it."

Montana's inhaled sharply, her own eyes boring into the vampire ahead of her, beginning to feel protective over the pack.

Alice noticed the way Jacob's body began to tremble, the boy desperately fighting the urge to shift. "You can't even control yourself." Alice scoffed, shaking her head at him. "And we're supposed to be the dangerous monsters that should stay away from Bella."

"I'm warning you," Jacob seethed, his eyes darkening.

Montana moved forwards, placing a hand on his bicep. Her touch was enough to ease his mind for a fleeting moment, until, to his horrors he realised that she was now standing between him and Alice.

"Jake is nothing like you," Montana spoke through gritted teeth, the urge to defend the pack so strong that it was enough to dull the alarm ringing bells in her head, reminders that Alice was a vampire.

"Montana," Jacob warned, attempting to pull her back.

The phone ringing from the kitchen distracted their attention. Jacob moved to answer it, standing in the doorway to remain in close enough proximity to Montana.

She listened as he picked picked it up, though couldn't quite make out the conversation. Nevertheless, it seemed to be a short one.

Alice's face suddenly blanked. Montana didn't think the vampire could possibly become paler, but any hint of colour she did have completely drained from her face. "Bella!" She suddenly cried out, hurrying to the staircase that Bella and Dakota had been sat together on. "Bella, it's Edward. He thinks you're dead. Rosalie told him why I came here."

Bella's entire expression dropped, her eyes swirling with rage as she thundered down the stairs, storming straight towards Jacob. "Why didn't you let me speak to him?"

"He didn't ask for you."

"I don't care!"

"Bella," Alice intervened. "He's gone to the Volturi. He wants to die too."

The entire room became unnervingly silent at the revelation.

Montana exchanged an unsure glance with Dakota from across the room. Neither of them knew who the Volturi were, but they didn't exactly sound friendly.

Bella pushed past Jacob and hurried upstairs without another word. Montana remained silent as she moved to Jacob's side. His hand brushed against hers, eyes focused on Alice as she stood slightly stunned in the middle of the kitchen.

"Alice, lets go!" Bella called out, rushing back down the stairs barely a minute later.

"Wait, hang on a minute." Dakota attempted  to intercept Alice, completely forgetting that she was merely a human trying to stop a vampire. She turned her attention back to Bella. "I'm not just gonna let you go."

"You have to," Bella bit back, rushing to the door.

"What about Charlie?" Dakota asked. "Bella–"

"I have to go, okay?!" Bella snapped.

The brunette threw open the front door. Dakota began to follow her, Montana and Jacob close behind.

"He left you, Bella," Jacob reminded, taking long strides to catch up to her. "He didn't want you anymore. Remember that?"

"I'm not going to let him kill himself out of guilt!"

"Bella, you can't actually be serious about this," Dakota called after her in disbelief.

Bella went to open the passenger side door of the car, but Dakota stopped her, slamming it shut with her palm.

"She made her decision," Alice said firmly, her eyes hardening.

Montana's stomach lurched with worry, but Dakota didn't even back up, instead meeting Alice's eyes with the same level of sternness. "Nobody was asking you."

Montana's pulse raced as she caught the flash of darkness in Alice's stare. She moved to her cousin's side, standing in front of the car door.

"Dakota, Montana, leave," Bella ordered, exasperated with them both.

Alice placed a hand on Montana's arm, attempting to move her out of the way. "You should leave."

Jacob almost had a heart attack.

"Don't touch her!" He stormed forwards, shoving Alice away from his imprint. The vampire simply grabbed his arm to defend herself, twisting it round. A groan of pain escaped Jacob's lips, his bones trembling as the vampire's touch began to trigger a shift.

Montana, forgetting what she was actually up against, saw a red mist cloud across her vision. "Stop–"

An unexpected ray of light burst from the street light behind her, the glass shattering as it rained down around her. At the same time, the tail lights on the car exploded, as if someone had taken a hammer and smashed them in.

Except, nobody had been anywhere near them. And this could not be a simple coincidence.

The car rocked from side to side for a few moments, before the motion finally settled down. Montana's heart rate also slowed as her fiery anger calmed to a simmer, her wide eyes focused on scanning the damage around her.

It was as if she'd felt the explosion erupt in her mind and body.

But how could that happen.

Did she cause that?

They stood around the vehicle in a stunned silence, eyes darting between one another, until, suddenly, all at once, their became gazes fixated on Montana. Her eyebrows pinched together for a second, until she felt what they were staring at – the trickle of blood running from her nose.

"Holy shit," Dakota muttered, staring at Montana in disbelief. "What just happened?"

Montana quickly wiped underneath her nose, holding her trembling hand out in front of her to examine the blood coating her fingers.

"Montana..." Jacob could barely speak himself, his heart pounding unbearably fast. "Montana?"

Slowly, she lifted her head, looking up at Jacob with round, terrified eyes. "What the fuck..."

A/N

Bet y'all weren't expecting that 👀