CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
THE HUNTER OR THE PREY

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VERONA COULD STILL FEEL Alec's lips against her own. Molded together like puzzle pieces, rough and gentle in all the right places. She could still feel his touch, the way his fingers lingered on her skin like he couldn't get enough of her. She could still hear his voice, the way that he'd whisper sweet nothings into her ear as they sat together, lost in each other's embrace. Every piece of him haunted her, day and night, an endless loop of memories and phantom touches and soothing whispers. Alec Volturi haunted Verona Hale in every way possible, and it was tearing her to pieces.

In the time that she'd been home, Verona had refused to leave her room unless she was checking up on Bella. She ignored her family's pleas for her to let them in; no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't. The words would catch in her throat, pressing down on her chest in the empty space where her heart used to be, reminding her of what she'd given up by coming home, by choosing her coven over her love. Things were meant to be okay for her. She was meant to be happy, they both were. Yet once again, they found themselves on the opposing sides of a war. Why couldn't they have their happy ending, for once in their lives? It just wasn't fair. But Verona had made up her mind, and she'd live with that, no matter how much it hurt her.

"Verona?" Bella's hollow voice snapped Verona out of her thoughts. She was downstairs sitting by her sister's side, her hands pressed to Bella's growing stomach as she took away her pain. The others lingered around them, speaking in hushed whispers and pretending like everything was fine, even when tension suffocated every inch of the living room. "Are you okay?"

Verona paused at that, empty eyes peering up at her, Bella's heartbeat echoing in her ears. "I should be asking you that."

"I'm fine," Bella muttered on instinct, though her words were quickly followed by a wince of agony. "It's you that I'm worried about."

"Well, I'm okay too," Verona smiled at her. But the grin made her face ache, and it soon wavered into a grimace much like Bella's. "You don't need to worry about me. Just focus on your baby for now."

From the corner of her eye, Verona noticed how her family exchanged cautious glances at her words, like the mere mention of the baby that Bella carried inside her was a curse. Sure, it'd only been a few days since she came home, but those days were enough for everything to start falling apart around them. 

Bella was only getting worse the longer she stayed pregnant. Edward had been furious when he learned that his wife had contacted Rosalie and Verona on their way home, knowing without even looking into his sisters' minds that they wouldn't give up on protecting Bella and her baby, no matter what he said to convince them. He could spit every plea or curse he knew at them, and they'd stand by his wife's decision regardless. They knew it was hurting her, and while they hated seeing her suffer, it was something she wanted. And they refused to let her choice be taken away, no matter how frustrated it made Edward. They'd been in Bella's position before; Rosalie at the hands of men who didn't understand consent. Verona under the command of a mental asylum who defeated her in every way imaginable. And while each of their situations were different, it united them, and they weren't going to stand by and let anyone, no matter who it was, go against Bella's wishes.

"Have you heard from him?" the girl in question whispered, and everyone immediately stopped what they were doing. Verona went quiet for a moment, her body tense. But she could see the tears shining in Bella's eyes, and she knew that her sister blamed herself for Verona's problems. 

"No," Verona sighed, to which Bella's lower lip began to tremble. "It's okay, though. I made my choice and he made his."

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," she whispered, reaching out to intertwine her hands with Bella's. "You are not to blame. He and I have always been complicated. This just shows what we've been fearing the entire time; our relationship is never going to work out."

"I wouldn't say never," Bella mumbled, hating how negative Verona was being.

"I would."

And the room went silent again. Verona released Bella's hands, moving to curl up on the lounge beside her. Bella rested her head on Verona's shoulder, her eyes fluttering shut as she drifted to sleep. Verona waited until her breathing evened out before she reached out with the arm that Bella wasn't leaning on to grab hold of a blanket, but Alice beat her to it, pressing the material to Verona's hands with a hesitant smile.

"Thanks," Verona muttered. She refused to meet Alice's eyes as she draped the blanket around Bella's body, knowing that her immune system was next to non-existent. They couldn't afford for her to get a cold, it'd only make things harder for them.

As she sunk back on the lounge, she heard Alice sigh in disappointment and struggled not to surge forward and hug her. While she and Rosalie had been certain in protecting Bella's wishes, everyone else wasn't sure what to do. Carlisle and Esme wanted what was best for both of their children, but they knew it wasn't right to force Bella into anything, so they played the mediators in their impossible situation. Emmett took Rosalie's side without hesitation; he could never go against his wife, not on something so important to her. But Alice and Jasper; well, they stood by Edward. Alice couldn't see the baby's future, and Bella's own life had disappeared the moment she fell pregnant. Jasper, while also wanting to support Alice, refused to accept that Bella's pregnancy might be normal, that she could just be carrying a baby, not a threat. Verona hated that she and Alice were on different sides, but she wasn't going to give up on something she believed in, not without a fight at least. 

Edward, upon hearing her thoughts, let out a pained sigh. "Verona, you know this is hurting her. Why aren't you stopping her?"

"Edward, just stop," Rosalie hissed, her eyes narrowing in annoyance. She moved to stand by Verona's side, her arms folded defensively. This wasn't the first time that Edward had tried to change their minds on the matter, and it wouldn't be the last. 

"Verona, please." Edward's eyes never wavered from his sister, desperate for her to listen. "How would you feel if this was Alec in Bella's position?"

"Don't," Verona immediately snapped, rising from the lounge with a growl. Bella groaned from behind her, but she didn't wake as Alice took Verona's seat, allowing her to lean against her. "I know you're upset, Edward, but do not bring him into this." Edward looked down at that, wincing as his sister's voice cracked. He hadn't meant to bring Alec up, but he needed her to listen. Looked like it only made things worse. "I'm just doing what I think is right, Eddie. You're not going to change my mind, so stop trying. Just be there to support your mate, because at least you have one."

With that, she turned away from him, disappearing out of the room without a glance back. The others watched her leave in silence, their eyes shining with sorrow. Verona sighed, hating their sympathy. She didn't want their pity, she wanted someone who understood, who related to what she was going through. But her family were happy, they had everything they could need. It made Verona's darkest demons shriek in bitterness, in sadness, in longing.

"Vee," Emmett knocked on his sister's bedroom door, leaning his head into the room as she spun around to face him, her lower lip trembling as she tried to keep in a sob. "Hey, Edward didn't mean to bring him up. He isn't thinking straight right now, don't take anything he says to heart."

"It's not that," she mumbled, sinking to the ground with her head in her hands. Emmett moved to sit beside her, wrapping a muscled arm around her shoulders and holding her close. Verona's heart ached at the touch, remembering Alec's hugs and how much she loved them, how much she loved him. "I miss him, Emmett. I miss him so much it hurts."

"I know you do," he whispered. "And I'm not going to pretend to understand how you feel. I don't. I've always had Rose. But I know you don't deserve this, and I wish I could do something. I am so sorry, Verona."

Verona buried her face into his chest, letting out a sob. Alec's face, his touch, his voice ran through her mind in a loop. His laughter, his happiness, his look of betrayal as she walked away from him.

"It hurts so much."

It was the worst pain she'd ever endured. Her days alone paled in comparison to this agony. They were nothing to how she was feeling in that instant, curled up by her brother's side, wishing for someone she chose to leave behind. How wicked the world could be.

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JACOB BLACK HAD BEEN downstairs for about an hour now. He arrived just after Verona's argument with Edward, and while she knew she should've been down there with the others, she didn't have the strength to move from her place on the floor. Emmett, with great reluctance, had given her some time alone. He hadn't wanted to leave her at first, but after hearing Jacob's angry voice downstairs as he learned about Bella's pregnancy, he decided to head down there in case a fight broke out between them.

It was only at the sound of Jacob storming outside and phasing that she went downstairs, lingering by the stairs for a moment, just watching everything unfold. The others were busy worrying about the wolves' reactions to notice her as she crossed the room to sit beside Bella, who let out a sigh as Verona's powers began to ease her pain. They sat together for what seemed like hours, listening in silence to their family's woes, before Jacob returned with two wolves hot on his heels. The wolves, who Verona didn't recognise, chose to wait outside as Jacob came to speak with them, a dark fire flaring in his eyes as he stared at them.

"What's going on?" Verona frowned at him, noticing how tense he seemed.

"Sam and the pack," he spoke, his voice resonating around the silent room. "They know about the baby, and they want to kill Bella."

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"SAM'S LOST THE ELEMENT of surprise. He doesn't want to take you on outnumbered, so he's not going to come at you head-on," Jacob told them. "He's got the place surrounded, and he's going to wait for his opportunity."

"Well, he won't get through without a fight," Emmett growled, eyeing the windows like he expected one of the wolves to burst in at any moment. 

"No fights," Carlisle immediately shook his head, his eyebrows furrowed in a grave frown. "We won't be the ones to break the treaty."

"The treat is void," Jacob frowned. "At least in Sam's mind."

"Not in ours," Esme insisted.

Verona exchanged a wary glance with her siblings, already feeling the burn of hunger lingering in the back of her throat. If the wolves had the place surrounded, then they wouldn't be able to hunt whenever they wanted. And they'd already spent most of their time by Bella's side, they weren't sure how much longer they could last before they lost control.

"Carlisle, no one's hunted for weeks," Emmett sighed.

"We'll make do," Esme insisted, shooting her son an assuring look.

"For how long?" Verona spoke up, voice the question that was on everyone's minds.

"For as long as we have to."

Verona had a feeling that it wasn't going to be that easy, but nonetheless, she fell silent along with the others, knowing there wasn't much else they could do.

"You've done us a great service, Jacob," Carlisle told the boy, who was watching them interact with a frown on his face. "Thank you."

He nodded, gaze never leaving him. Verona leaned back in her seat as the others began making plans, running a hand over her tired face. Things kept getting worse and worse for them. First, Bella fell pregnant. Then, Verona was forced to leave Alec. And now, the wolves want them dead. Verona wasn't sure what they were going to do. There was only so much they could endure before they were defeated. And she had a very bad feeling that more was yet to go wrong.