|Falling for a Cullen| |Carlisle Cullen Fanfic |

Chapter 8

Ashley was so pale that the colour of her skin almost matched the vampires'. She was shaking and Carlisle had to steady her.

"Ashley... Ashley, listen to me", he said, his voice calm and soothing.

"What if something happens to them?" she whispered and sank down on the ground.

"They'll be safe, while the pack's there they'll search everything and make sure that no one's been harmed", Bella calmed her.

"It's just... I have never met Mr Raver, my dad's best friend", Ashley continued and looked up at them. "My father always says that he's away a lot. What if..."

"What if he's the one", Edward filled in. There was complete silence on the front lawn.

"If he's somehow found out that... that I..."

Ashley's voice broke as she started to cry. Carlisle wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't worry", he mumbled in her ear. "We'll deal with this."

Ashley never heard him give the others their different missions, she was just crying against his cold chest. Then he scoped her up in his arms and started running.

"It will be alright", he said as he set her down on the ground again. She hadn't realised that she'd been crying the whole time and that his jacket was now quite wet where her head had been.

"I'm sorry", she whispered. He smiled reassuringly at her.

"Don't be", he answered and kissed her.

"Well, what's this?"

Carlisle immediately broke the kiss and stood in front of Ashley, protecting her. A tall man jumped down from one of the trees nearby.

"Carlisle, my son, what a pleasure to meet you again", he said and grinned. "And Ashley Tyler is here as well. You've got your father's eyes."

"Raver", Ashley whispered, too afraid to make another sound. The man grinned at her.

"Seems like you've already understood who I am. I really shouldn't have underestimated you."

He turned to Carlisle.

"But you, son, look at what has become of you? Of us both? We're... human..."

He said the word with disgust.

"Or at least, we pretend to be", he continued. "Looks like you weren't as strong as I'd hoped. After all, you were a Hunter once. Why not become that again?"

"I've never wanted to be a Hunter", Carlisle answered. Ashley thought his voice sounded quite strange, though she didn't pay attention to it.

"Really?" Raver said and chuckled. "You know you have been, Carlisle, and you still are. You're just pushing it away."

He took a step forward.

"Don't deny it, my son", he continued. "You're a vampire since 400 years, this is not what you should be doing. Protecting humans? That's not good."

"No..."

Ashley gasped as she felt his grip hardening.

"Carlisle!"

"It's not good..." he mumbled.

"Carlisle!" she screamed again as she felt that her arms were about to break.

"Carlisle, stop it!"

The new voice was Edward's. He'd shown up from behind them and now tore Ashley away from Carlisle. Carlisle stood completely still.

"Why isn't he doing anything?" Bella asked Edward as she pulled Ashley backwards.

"That's his power; he's able to hypnotize people", Edward answered bitterly. "I think that you need to step forward."

Bella nodded and left Ashley in Edward's hands.

"Carlisle, come back", she said. The older vampire blinked and Raver hissed.

"No!"

"You leave us alone, Raver", Bella said. "Don't you dare..."

"Carlisle is my creation, he's mine", Raver growled.

"He's his own", Edward said from behind, keeping Ashley in his arms. Raver growled once again and moved forward, but a fuzz of russet fur stopped him from going any further.

"Jake!" Bella called.

"Seth, get Ashley home", Edward said and lifted her onto the back of a sand-coloured wolf, who'd just appeared behind them. The wolf growled.

"You can come back here later", Edward assured him. "Make two of the others guard her, along with Alice and Jasper. We need to scan the forest for the others."

"Others?" Ashley gasped. "What... Edward? Carlisle!"

But the wolf had already run a long way away from the fight and she had to cling to his back for her life.

The wolf took her back to the Cullens' house, where Jasper and Alice waited for her. It was obvious that they didn't really want to just sit there and watch, even though they pretended to, but Ashley could see the longing in their eyes as the sandy wolf ran back to the fight.

"What if something happens to them?" Ashley whispered and sank down in the large sofa.

"Don't worry", Jasper said, his voice calming her instantly. "They'll be alright, they'll be back soon."

For the rest of the evening, it was the same thing over and over again. When Jasper was outside the house, talking to a grey wolf that was obviously on guard, Ashley couldn't stop thinking about what might've happened to the others. Alice desperately tried to calm her down, but it didn't work. Jasper had to come around and use his abilities all the time.

"Alice, how many newborns did you see?" Jasper asked once, when Ashley was once again calm.

"About 20, just like last time", Alice answered. "It's going to be a tough fight, and it will be worse if the Volturi shows up. They do not exactly like us at the moment."

Ashley didn't bother asking who the newborns were or why they were worrying about them and the Volturi, a name that she'd never heard before. Jasper's presence made her stay calm and still, even though she felt a strong will deep inside to rush out into the darkening forests and find Carlisle again.

"Ashley's tired", Alice said after a while. "We should get her to bed."

"I'll sleep in the sofa", Ashley mumbled, already drifting off to sleep.

"Oh no, you don't", Alice said and lifted her up. It was a weird feeling being carried by a person as small as Alice, but at the moment Ashley didn't bother.

"I'll be right behind you", she heard Jasper say, though she thought he was talking to Alice and not to her.

She felt herself being placed on a soft sheet and then another sheet was placed upon her. The voices of the two others were just whispers now and she couldn't understand what they were talking about. All she wanted was to slip away into her dreams and feel that Carlisle was close to her.