Page 104

When Pearl's cries finally died down, and her breathing and heart rate had evened out, Carlisle gently pulled away from the teen, so that he could address her properly.

With his movements, Bree moved over and took Pearl's hand, pulling her mate to her side.

Now being between the two vampires, Pearl took some deep breaths in to clear her head. She felt a lot better now, and her two family members were pleased to see that.

After a minute, Carlisle spoke up in a quiet reassuring voice. "Do you think you could tell me what set that off?" He said, as he referred to her panic attack.

Pearl mumbled a response that Carlisle and Bree had to strain themselves to hear. So no vampires downstairs were able to pick it up.

In a heartbroken whisper, Pearl mumbled, "She's trying to take me away."

As soon as her answer registered in Carlisle's brain, he immediately replied to her in a firm tone. "She can try, but she won't succeed. We won't let her."

Bree nodded her head and looked at Pearl with determination in her eyes. Then said with her voice unwavering, "Dad won't let her take you Pearl. None of us will."

Hearing their reassurance, allowed Pearl's mind to be quelled slightly, and a small ghost of a smile slipped onto her face.

Suddenly, a loud voice rang out from downstairs. "You're all avoiding the subject! Is Pearl Clearwater here, or not?!"

When the human's voice reached Pearl's ears, she instinctively flinched away from its source. And her facial expression returned to one that was full of nerves and fear.

Bree wrapped her arms around Pearl's body, and whispered, "It's okay."

Meanwhile, Carlisle had his thinking face on.

He was desperately trying to think of a believable lie to tell Charlie.

Unfortunately, they couldn't just up and leave to avoid this mess, as an official police report has now been filed against them.

Leaving would be too suspicious, and the entire situation would draw more unwanted attention to themselves.

But showing that Pearl was indeed with them, would cause many other issues. Including risking Pearl's safety.

With her imprint holding onto her and providing comfort, Pearl was able to regain her bearings, and return to her cold, almost indifferent persona.

Seeing Carlisle's expression, Pearl became aware of what had to be done.

So she slowly pulled away from Bree's grasp, but still grabbed onto her hand, as she got up from her spot on the floor.

Bree and Carlisle followed Pearl's lead and stood up as well.

Pearl hesitantly nodded towards Carlisle and left the bedroom, heading downstairs to the living room in order to speak to Chief Swan.

As she walked, Bree kept a firm grip on Pearl's hand and walked beside her with faux confidence.

Carlisle followed behind the girls, and decided to let Pearl take charge of how they should deal with the situation.

Before entering the living room, Pearl took in a deep breath to calm her nerves, then she steeled her resolve. Once she did so, she walked into the living room with a false sense of confidence, directly into Charlie's line of sight.

Upon seeing the missing teenager, Charlie froze. She was different from the last time he had seen her, but it had almost been a year since then, so he had expected her to look somewhat different. But Pearl looked similar to Bella now? Was she not human anymore?

Snapping out of his initial shock, Charlie was now unsure of how to proceed. Should he call it in? Would that be a good idea? How was he supposed to react? Did the Cullens actually kidnap Pearl? Was Sue right?

With the Chief not saying anything, Pearl stepped forwards and began talking.

Keeping her voice as steady as possible, she said, "Chief.

I don't know what Sue is trying to pull, but I have not been kidnapped.

Nor am I being held against my will. I ran away from her care because of her treatment towards me.

And I have no intention of returning to her. "

Deciding that it was best to treat this as a runaway instead of a kidnapping after Pearl's words, Charlie responded in a firm voice, "What exactly happened that caused you to run off? Do you know how worried me and Billy were, when we discovered that you were missing?"

Pearl flinched slightly, but did her best to keep her composure.

She replied in an even tone, "I'm aware that you and Billy were the people who reported me as missing.

But I am also well aware that Sue had no interest in my disappearance.

She didn't care. She also, wasn't the one to notice that I was gone.

I don't know why she has made a false police report to you, but it's exactly that. False."

Charlie stared at her for some time, contemplating what she was saying.

He'd watched this kid grow up, he had been a part of her life since the beginning.

And he was well aware of the fact that Pearl was currently, very nervous.

Although her voice's calmness was misleading, the slight tremble in her hands and the inability to hold eye contact with him, told the Chief everything he needed to know.

"Why did you run away from home?" Charlie asked the long awaited question that Pearl was dreading to answer.

The hybrid instantly froze up at the question and was unsure of how to respond. Whether or not she should tell him the truth, weighed heavily on her mind in that moment.

Thankfully, Bree was already by her mate's side and gave Pearl's hand a comforting squeeze. Emmet also moved closer to his sister, and stood behind her to offer his support, while he glared at the Chief.

Once Pearl was able to find the right words, she responded to Charlie rather bluntly. Knowing that the chief knew of the shifters thanks to Jacob, meant that she could tell him at least half of the truth in order to get her point across.

"When dad died, Leah and Seth shifted for the first time.

They took on their new roles and responsibilities without clueing me in.

They essentially disappeared from my life the day dad died.

And Sue wasn't any better. She took over dad's position in the council after his death, and she basically forgot that she had three children instead of just two.

She became neglectful and uncaring. The amount of times I went hungry because she hadn't prepared any food for me, or hadn't bought enough groceries to feed four people, only increased as more time passed by.

The complete lack of support from my mother and siblings, sent me on a downward spiral.

My time at school became less and less pleasant.

And with my failing grades, the only time I ever got any attention from my mother was when she would scream at me for causing her problems and for being pathetic. " Pearl spat out in a venomous tone.

"One night, after a fight with Leah, I decided that I couldn't take it anymore. So I packed a bag and left the house with my motorcycle. I wasn't exactly in the right headspace as I drove that night, since I ended up crashing my bike around an 1 hour and 20 minutes after I left Forks."

Charlie listened silently as Pearl proceeded with her explanation.

"In my hurt and anger, I ended up shifting for the first time.

I was too far away for anyone in the pack to notice, and in my panic of not understanding what had happened, I ran even further away from the reservation.

And I proceeded to live as a wolf for many months.

It wasn't until the Cullens found me that I learnt about what I had become.

They helped me, and took me in, when everyone else turned me away.

They've welcomed me into their family, and as long as they don't get tired of me, I have no intention of leaving.

" Pearl stated, her voice held finality in her tone.

It took a while for Charlie to respond, as he first had to take in all of the new information Pearl had told him.

Understanding that this matter was not black and white, and that it didn't have a simple solution, the chief felt like he was way out of his depth.

Knowing that whatever he now chooses to do, will likely cause problems to someone and upset them, his job has just put him in a difficult position.

'I don't believe that Pearl is lying about this.

She's not got any of the tells that would indicate that she is.

But... then again... did Sue really treat her like that?

She was Harry's wife... there's no way..

. she's always been a great mother...' Charlie thought in disbelief, but his instincts and emotions were quite conflicting.

It took some time for Charlie to respond, as he was unsure how much of Pearl's statement he should take as fact.

Eventually, he said, "Okay, I'm not gonna pretend that I understand everything, cause I don't. So instead, I'll just tell you what I know for certain.

Regardless of what world you are now a part of, in the eyes of the law, you are a runaway, and I have to return you to your legal guardian. "

"NO!" Pearl instantly shouted at him in anger and fear. Her body automatically began to tremble as a response to her intense emotions.

Emmet placed his hand on Pearl's shoulder and argued with the Chief, coming to his little sister's defence.

"You want her to go back with a neglectful mother that doesn't give a shit about her?!" He roared.

Remaining professional, Charlie replied rather calmly, given the situation.

"Pearl, you are 17 years old. You're not a legal adult yet.

If you were, this would be different. But the fact is, you're not.

Sue is your legal guardian, and she wants you home.

So I will have to bring you to her. In addition to that, Sue made it clear to me that she is more than willing to make this public and take you all to court, to get what she wants.

And since this group would rather remain private, it's in your best interest to return to Sue's care.

Once you become a legal adult, you can make your own decisions. "

Pearl growled lowly at Charlie, her threatening aura forced the human to take a step back. Bella looked like she wanted to intervene, but Edward held her in place.

Carlisle took the prerogative and stepped in front of Pearl, blocking the human from her lethal gaze. Directing his sentence towards Charlie in a serious manner, he asked, "What if we were to fight for custody of Pearl?"