Too Close | Rosalie Hale

Chapter 11

Lex's boots crunched in the snow with each step that she took. She could feel the coolness of the air biting at her skin, but it had no effect. She sniffed the air. Nothing... Yet.

Earlier that day, Alice had a vision, and she promptly alerted the rest of the Cullen clan that Victoria and her army were on their way. This revelation prompted the start of the plan that they had worked out to combat the newborn army. Edward had gotten Bella and notified the pack, while the rest of the Cullens waited at the foot of the mountain. 

"Ew," Rosalie groaned. "The mutts are here."

 The wolves had arrived, and they had brought their stench with them. One of the wolves made an annoyed sound at Rosalie's rude statement, and Rosalie shot a glare at it. She did not like the wolves one bit, and she didn't want to waste any energy being pleasant to them. They didn't deserve niceties. 

"Shut up," she sneered at the wolf.

It growled in response, baring it's deadly white teeth at her as it tensed up it's shoulders. Lex watched it cautiously— she was afraid that it might attack her mate. One of the other wolves made a sound that was similar to a bark, as if to warn the first wolf not to act out. 

While Lex wasn't particularly fond of the pack either, she didn't want them as enemies either, so she stepped in. She didn't want tension between the two groups causing issues during their battle or any other time they may need to interact during the future.

"Be nice," Lex scolded the blonde girl. "They're helping us."

Rosalie arched an eyebrow as if to show that she wasn't convinced. The wolves made some sounds that were definitely meant to taunt the poor-tempered vampire. 

"Please?" she asked sweetly as she stepped closer to Rosalie, and placed her hands on her girlfriend's hips. "For me? Just be nice for today. After that, you can bully them as much as you want, and I won't intervene."

"Fine," Rosalie agreed, though she didn't sound at all happy about it.

"Thank you," Lex smiled as she placed a peck on Rosalie's lips. She felt a little awkward being so affectionate in front of a group of people they barely knew— and her ex-boyfriend— but Lex knew Rosalie well enough to that this was the best way to get her to agree to things that she wouldn't otherwise do. Well, other than using her power— which Lex had vowed to herself to never ever use on Rosalie. 

She didn't want to have a relationship where her partner felt as if she was controlling everything they did. Lex wanted a respectful relationship based off of trust, compassion, and love— which is exactly what she had with Rosalie without using her powers. She refused to corrupt their relationship for the sake of getting what she wanted.

"Thank you for coming," Carlisle finally welcomed the wolves. "We truly appreciate your help."

A large black wolf seemed to nod in acknowledgement. It was weird not having Edward around to translate for them. Lex wished that she could talk to the wolves in their people forms. She had so many questions that were left unanswered because of the distrust between the two groups.

It was because of this dynamic that she still hadn't gotten to talk to Paul since the day that she died. Lex didn't have many connections to her life from before, so she couldn't help but want to see his face and hear his voice. He was one of the few people that Lex didn't want to eat, because he reeked of wet dog smell, and he knew that she was a vampire, so she didn't have to worry about keeping her secret. Lex just wanted a tiny sliver of the normalcy that had been lacking from her life in the most recent months, and she thought that Paul could give that to her— in the form of a friendship. 

Lex didn't have any romantic feelings for him anymore. Ever since she had met Rosalie, Lex had realized how every other relationship that she had ever had— whether it was with a boy or a girl— lacked true passion. Lex didn't know what love was meant to feel like until she met Rosalie, and though they had never said it to each other, Lex knew that she was in love with Rosalie, and that Rosalie felt the same way about her.

"Hey," a voice said, snapping her out of her thoughts. It was Jasper. "Don't forget your training— use your powers, but don't rely on them to win, and stay alert."

"Thanks, Jasper," Lex said appreciatively. 

While they didn't hang out much, they had similar starts to their vampire lives which gave them a mutual understanding and appreciation of each other. Neither of them was super fond of sharing their traumas with people who weren't their mates, but the bits that they told each other had allowed them to form a unique bond. To Lex, Jasper was a role model. Just like her, Jasper had started off being turned against his will, and he had fed from humans for a long time. Even though he was still adjusting to life with the Cullens, at least he could successfully attend school with hundreds of humans and go to the store with Alice when she wanted to go shopping. That's all that Lex wanted for herself, and seeing Jasper doing all of those things gave her hope for herself. 

Sure, there were times where she felt a bit discouraged by how much he was struggling, but Rosalie was always there to remind her that just because she had similarities with him, that didn't mean that she was exactly like him. Rosalie kept her sane and grounded, and Lex was always so appreciative of her in those moments.

"Are you sure that you're okay with being here?" he asked. "You were one of them a few weeks ago. We would understand if this is too difficult for you."

"I'm good," Lex reassured him. "Most of them wanted to kill me anyway."

Jasper studied Lex for a few seconds and seemed to decide that she was telling the truth. He gave a slight nod before returning to Alice's side. 

Lex surveyed the people around her. 

Rosalie looked a little annoyed that she had to spend her time dealing with this whole situation, but Lex knew that Rosalie was glad to be there to protect her family. Rosalie just liked to look tough, but Lex knew that she was a lot more sensitive than people gave her credit for.

 Emmett was bouncing on the balls of his feet, and swinging his arms lightly in anticipation for the fight. He reminded Lex of a child playing outfield in little league— he was just waiting for something exciting to happen so that he could play too.

 Carlisle and Esme were watching over their family like a pair of proud, yet concerned, parents. Esme smiled fondly at Lex as their eyes met. 

Alice and Jasper were standing close to each other. Alice looked a bit more relaxed than her partner. Jasper looked a lot more on edge, almost as if he were preparing for the worst possible scenario.

And although Edward wasn't physically with them at the moment, Lex imagined that he was somewhere up on the mountain brooding or fussing over Bella.

Lex hadn't been with them for very long, but she was worried for them. They were her family now, and she didn't want to lose them. Especially not because of Riley and Victoria.

The atmosphere shifted as an overwhelming sweet scent drifted towards them. It was unmistakable— vampires, and quite a few of them. Everyone quickly struck a defensive pose as they scanned the horizon. The sound of dozens of footsteps got louder, and finally, about twenty or so snarling vampires emerged from the trees, running at full speed. 

The army had arrived.

A/N:

Sorry these chapters are taking so long. For the life of me, I cannot remember what actually went down in Eclipse, and I don't own any of the books or movies, so I can't check them lol. And I'm trying so hard to keep things as similar to the original things bc I know it can get confusing/annoying for readers when authors change things up too much.