Page 41

Pearl stirred, gaining the attention of Bree, who immediately called for Carlisle. Entering the room quickly, he asked "What's wrong?", whilst looking over the hybrid.

"She moved! I think she's waking up." Bree exclaimed.

Looking at the clock, Carlisle comments, "The anaesthesia would definitely have worn off by now. So it is definitely a possibility that she's -"

He was cut off by Pearl opening her eyes.

She blinked a couple of times and groaned.

She looked very groggy. Then she slowly tried to sit up.

Seeing her movement, Carlisle and Bree quickly moved to support her, allowing Pearl to lean on the two of them as she moved into a sitting position.

She winced slightly, but made no complaint.

Carlisle is the first to speak. "How do you feel Pearl?" He said, going into doctor mode.

Still quite groggy, Pearl grimaced and mumbled, "Like I got chewed up and spat out by a shark." Bree giggled slightly, and Carlisle faintly smiled at the response.

Pearl's stomach grumbled and she blushed a little in embarrassment.

"Esme has already started making you something to eat. Consuming some food should help you gain some energy back." Carlisle said.

Pearl nodded and started to shuffle off of the bed. Bree and Carlisle lightly pull her back and hold her in place.

"Where are you going?" Bree asked, concerned.

"To the kitchen." Pearl answered in a confused tone.

"No! You need to stay here and rest." Bree immediately responded.

"I'm not tired." Pearl answered, slightly annoyed at being told she had to stay in bed.

"Moving around could make your injuries worse. It would be better if you allowed your body to rest." Carlisle explained.

Pearl glared at the two. "I'm not staying here. If you're worried about me potentially hurting myself, then you can come with me. But I'm not staying in this room." She said. 'Especially alone' Pearl thought. "I'm leaving with, or without your help." She stated firmly, being stubborn.

'Note to self. Pearl is a terrible patient.' The two vampires thought at the same time.

Carlisle sighed, then lifted Pearl's right arm over his shoulder so that he could take the weight off of her right leg when she stood up.

He had a feeling that Pearl would adamantly protest against being carried.

So this was the next best option. Bree held Pearl's left hand, being careful not to touch her shoulder.

And the two vampires helped the hybrid off of the bed.

When Pearl's feet touched the ground, she stumbled slightly.

Needing to be caught by Carlisle, who held her up easily.

Pearl whimpered quietly at the pain, then quickly silenced herself to try and hide it.

The worry on the vampires faces was as clear as day, but Pearl paid it no mind and pushed herself forwards.

The three, very slowly, made their way to the kitchen, where the rest of the coven was located.

Having heard Pearl's stubbornness, the group knew that the hybrid was going to be difficult.

They had all heard her stumble which was quickly followed by a whimper in pain, so it was very clear to all of them that she was still hurting.

She just didn't want to admit it. Even though she already had when she was still half asleep.

Alice made space for Pearl to sit by the island, bringing a chair over so she had somewhere to sit.

Esme placed a plate of food down in front of the chair for the hybrid.

When the three entered the kitchen, no one said anything.

All eyes were on Pearl. She was doing a fairly good job at hiding it, but it was still clear to all of them because of their vampire senses, that she was still really sore.

Esme smiled sadly at the girl, "I've made you some pancakes dear. There's some fruit you can put with them if you want. We have some other toppings as well if you'd like something different." She offered in a soft voice.

With the help of Carlisle and Bree, Pearl managed to sit down in her seat. She spoke quietly, "Thank you Esme. And this is fine, so don't trouble yourself." And began eating slowly.

Esme nodded towards the girl and chose to stay silent. Already getting the impression that Pearl doesn't like the attention, so if she were to try and correct her and say it's no trouble, it would likely cause the hybrid to argue with her. So Esme decided to stay silent.

No one spoke as Pearl ate. No one quite knew what to say, or how to start the conversation. So Pearl took it upon herself.

Putting her fork down, she asked, "How did the rest of the party go? Did any humans see what happened?"

Jasper was the first to reply. "No. Only we knew what had transpired. No humans other than Bella, suspected anything." He informed her.

"Does Bella know?" Pearl hesitantly asked.

"She knows that you and Jacob got into an altercation. But she doesn't know the details." Esme explains.

"Nor does she know that you and the mutt shifted." Rosalie commented.

"No one told her?" Pearl asked, surprised.

"We believed that it was best to leave the subject for a later date. If Bella was aware of it, she would've likely wanted to stay here and try to fix the issue." Carlisle said.

"She needed to go on her honeymoon! Not worry about that stupid mutt!" Alice loudly says. "Not talking about you Pearl." She adds quickly, after looking at the hybrid's face. "Oh, and by the way, Edward asked me to thank you for him." Alice continued.

Pearl hummed in a confused manner. "For what?" She asked quietly.

"For taking Jacob's attention off of them, allowing them to get back to the party. And for protecting him from the dog." Alice quickly answered in a happy tone.

"They don't need to thank me for that. I'd protect any of you if needed. And I didn't do anything special by jumping in between them." Pearl responded. Brushing it off, she took another bite of her pancakes. Wincing slightly, when her hair brushes against a cut on her neck.

Carlisle who was smiling at the hybrids words along with everyone else, notices the unintentional action and leaves the room for a moment, then returns with a tube of cream in his hand.

"Your body doesn't have the energy to fully heal itself yet. So, until it does, this should help sooth the more minor injuries you have." He says, gesturing to the tube of cream he was holding.

Pearl nods her head and uses her right hand to pull her hair away from her back, allowing Carlisle to start applying the cream to her exposed cuts.

"So... what happened with the pack?" Emmet took the opportunity to ask. "I mean... me and Bree saw you leave with them." He exclaimed.

Pearl narrowed her eyes at him, not responding. Rosalie interjected and said, "You don't have to tell us Pearl. But, we do have questions."

Pearl sighed, looking away she nodded her head slowly. "Alright" A quiet whisper was heard from the hybrid.

Jasper, noting her rising discomfort and sadness, decided to use his gift to help calm her.

He didn't take it all or numb it completely, he only made a subtle difference to her distress levels.

Watching her closely as he did so, he saw a very faint smile appear on her lips, so he knew that she was grateful for his intervention.

Even if she didn't say anything about it.

Bree moved closer to Pearl's side and took her right hand into hers. She hoped that she could make it slightly easier for her to tell them, as it was clear how much the hybrid was struggling with what went down on the reservation.

"... I didn't leave with them willingly.

" Pearl revealed. "Sam used his alpha voice on me, forcing me to comply with his demands.

" She grit out through her teeth. Seething at the memory of feeling helpless, then winces slightly as Carlisle rubbed some cream into one of her larger cuts that was on her arm.

Rosalie growled quietly. Silently fuming at the idea that such a thing exits. And that there isn't a way to fight it. Choosing to redirect her focus she asks, "Is all of this" Rosalie said frowning, whilst gesturing to Pearl's many injuries, "from that dog, Jacob?" She finishes.

Pearl shook her head, "... No. I'm sure some of them are from him but... after our fight... a lot... happened... back on the res." She muttered, eyelids heavy.

Emmet was eager to hear all about it, but a stern look from Carlisle stopped him from asking. Carlisle could see how much Pearl was struggling to stay upright. It was obvious that she needed more rest.

"You can tell us all about it, once you've gotten some more rest and your injuries are healed more substantially than they are now." Carlisle said.

Pearl nodded her head and forced herself off of the chair, then attempted to limp towards the front door. Although stunned by her movements at first, Bree, Carlisle and Alice were quick to stop the hybrid.

"Where on earth do you think you are going?" Alice shrieked.

"Home" Was Pearl's one word response, as she weakly attempted to make her way past the three.

"Absolutely not." Carlisle completely disagreed.

"You can barely walk, let alone run or defend yourself if you get into any trouble.

Besides, your injuries will most definitely worsen if you move to much.

You'll end up tearing your stitches." His voice held absolute authority.

There was no way Pearl was leaving their house.

'I'd rather not trouble them... and... I just... really want to be alone right now...' Pearl thought, face downcast as her mind wanders back to everything she learned from the pack. Before she could voice her protest, Bree spoke up and placed herself directly in front of her.

"You can't leave." She said firmly. "I'm not going to loose you Pearl." 'Not before I get to know you as my mate, instead of just as a friend.' Bree thought determinedly.

Pearl, not being able to deny her imprint, just nodded her head in defeat. She was too tired to try and argue with her.

"Good" Carlisle said sounding relieved. 'She's not going to like it, but, she shouldn't be walking anymore.

She has already pushed herself too hard.

' He thought. Nudging Bree to the side and taking a step forwards, Carlisle quickly scooped Pearl up into his arms and started carrying her back to his and Esme's bedroom, so that she could rest.

As expected, Pearl began to protest, "Hey-"

"You have pushed yourself hard enough for today. You need rest." Carlisle cut the hybrid off.

Pearl growled softly but didn't try to argue with him. Besides it was getting much harder to keep her eyes open now. She didn't want to fall asleep. So many things could happen if she did, and that scared her. So she desperately fought off the urge to succumb to the darkness.

Bree walked alongside the two and watched Pearl fighting to stay awake. She spoke softly to her mate. "It's okay. You can go to sleep. I'll stay with you the whole time." Bree said while smiling warmly at the hybrid.

At Bree's reassuring words, Pearl gave in and she went limp in Carlisle's arms, resting her head on his shoulder as she accepted the call of sleep.