The Phantom Wolf

Chapter 103 (Trouble)

*3rd Person POV*

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?